Getting Back to Square 1
by Clarity2199
Summary: Action/Suspense/Romance. Just what extremes will Seto Kaiba go through to keep his his brother safe? Shows the bonds of brotherly love, along with a Joey nursing Kaiba back to health. Violence, yaoi, language.
1. Chapter 1

**YUGIOH**

Getting Back to Square 1

Narr: Romance/suspense, yaoi, J/K. Kaiba ran into some bad luck in order to save Mokuba from another kidnapping, and it's up to Joey to nurse him back to health. Why not...everyone else has probably done a similar plot atleast once. Rated, PG-13.

Note: Though this is a J/K romance story, the main plot of it is actually about Kaiba's bond with his brother Mokuba, and what lengths he is willing to go in order to protect him.

Chapter 1.

"You son of a bitch!" The man known as Luther spat at him.

Kaiba was down on his hands and knees, battered and bruised, and unable to do much more than take the next blow about to come to him. Yet, he couldn't stop the smirk forming back on his face despite the pain he had gone through.

The man kicked him hard, causing him to crumble. But Kaiba began to once again crawl back up, even if it meant he would be knocked back down again. That's just the kind the guy he was.

The man grabbed him by the collar, forcefully yanking him up to yell into his face. "You think you're so damn smart, don't you you fuck!"

Again, Kaiba replied with a cocky smirk to his face.

One of the men approached Luther, clad in what looked like a military outfit, saying, "Sir...we can simply send our men out to personally kidnap his brother, this time."

"It wont work now, don't you get that?" Luther spat. "By now, the little brat is surrounded by so many Kaiba Corp security, it would be like breaking into Fort Knox!" He turned back at Kaiba, and shook him, ranting, "You weren't supposed to be there! Why the fuck were you there!"

"I guess you're just not thorough enough." Kaiba choked out.

(flashback)

It was any other typical day. There hadn't been any other danger or attempts on Kaiba Corp or the brother's lives for some time. There was no sign of anything happening. Mokuba was older now, and allowed to go to certain areas without escorts, so he didn't look like a freak all the time. And Kaiba didn't always have the time to hang around his brother 24/7 to watch him over a threat that wasn't there. There was no reason to believe something was going to happen.

What Luther didn't know was that he was 'too' careful in his planning. He had a couple of his plain clothes militia checking that day to make certain nothing unusual was going to happen to ensure his plan worked perfectly.

...and when Kaiba was walking with his brother to work that day, his paranoia strangely kicked in seeing one suspicious person that he felt looked out of place in a crowd, and he was certain that person was looking their way. He knew it didn't really seem like anything...but since that moment, the alarms of danger was going on in his head and he just couldn't let himself allow Mokuba to continue to take his routine walk alone.

"You're staying with me?" Mokuba asked him, surprised by the sudden change of events. "But, you have a real important meeting in like 10 minutes. Is something wrong?"

"I rescheduled." Kaiba lied. He then looked down at him and offered a soft look. "It's nothing. We haven't spent any real time together, lately. If Procon can't handle me taking a little time off to spend some time with my brother, then they'll just have to find another business to deal with."

'Boy, there's a load of bullshit.' Mokuba thought, automatically assuming his brother had some spur of the moment reason to feel paranoid again. Not to say he was never right, but he could be a bit over-protective at times. And after working almost a month to get that client, something must have spooked him to just drop their appointment like that.

Kaiba didn't want to tell his brother the truth. He didn't want to worry him, he didn't want to look paranoid and overprotective, and it might just be nothing. And he knew if he was wrong, he'd be kicking himself later for letting that important appointment go like that.

But, then they both entered the building where Mokuba was to be dropped off at, which held special classes for both skilled and rich students. And instead of students and teachers inside the entrée way, there were what looked like a bunch of soldiers inside. In the very center of these people was one man that stood out, and appeared to be the soldier's possible leader.

The man calmly looked up, expecting to see Mokuba enter. But, he turned immediately wide-eyed to also see his old brother next to him. Instantly enraged, Luther snapped, "Get that brat!"

The instant the man looked up, Kaiba recognized him...he was Leichter's little brother of the Big 5. This was one of those days that Kaiba's paranoia had actually pulled through. The same time Luther was chiding his soldiers to get them, Kaiba had grabbed his brother, launched him towards the door, and yelled, "Run!"

And Mokuba did not question or hesitate from his brother's command. Doing exactly what was ordered, he turned tailed and ran out of the building, without looking back. Worry filled him after seeing those people with guns, and praying his brother would make it out of there alive. But, he had learned from the past that if he turned to look and see, he could only put his brother in worst danger to do so. The best thing he could do for Kaiba now was escape and be safe. Once he got with any Kaiba Corp security or police, he could inform them of the danger, and help his brother that way.

And Luther was fuming with rage. He had planned this scenario to death to make sure everything would be right. He had spies watch the path and patterns of both Kaiba brother's for the past month. He had worked with the company that were good friends of his brother in order to get this important meeting set up with Kaiba just during this time, to ensure there would be no possible way he would be there to interfere. He made sure this kidnapping took place on a day a special event was happening that would keep the majority of the police away from what they were doing. He had his men study the school intricately in order to know exactly where to hit in order to prepare the trap for Mokuba to come here without any kind of police warnings or danger. He even had a couple of his men give confirmation that very morning, to let him know the Kaiba's were still following the same pattern and everything was fine.

...and yet, to Luther's shock and horror, both Kaiba's ended up entering the building instead of just one.

The school and the deal with Procon was supposed to be the complicated part. Capturing Mokuba was supposed to be the simplest of the whole thing.

And if Seto Kaiba wasn't there, Mokuba's capture would have been child's play. And when Mokuba ran, if Kaiba wasn't there - that too would have been a peace of cake to simply block the exit. But, it wasn't.

Mokuba started running that must faster. Kaiba valiantly threw himself in the way and started to attack the 5 professional militia crew, stalling their chase to a stand-still as Mokuba slipped through their fingers.

"Don't let him get away!" Luther practically screamed, seeing his opportunity disappearing in a whiff of smoke.

As more backup militia came forward, Kaiba had somehow managed to get away from the first 5, to attack whoever was now nearest to the doorway. Infact, he had placed himself in the way of the doorway, so that the only way they were going to get through was to take him down.

Luther's eye twitched watching as his fighters, no matter how hard they hit him, still could not succeed in knocking this man down. Despite the beating he was getting, he continued to fight on and prevent them from leaving. And Kaiba was doing pretty damn good for a guy fighting 10 men...that is until Luther finally had enough and shot him in the leg, which then the soldiers jumped him at once...beating him until he couldn't stand, anymore.

But, Kaiba didn't care...he was happy. He succeeded in his goal...Mokuba was safe from harm.

(end flashback)

Since that time, Luther had quickly escaped with his soldiers out of the area back to their base, hauling the beaten Seto Kaiba with them.

Now at their camp sight, he was shaking Kaiba like a rag doll...the man's temper out of control. And Kaiba didn't see any way he was going to survive, this time...not that it mattered. As long as he knew his sacrifice was so Mokuba could live on safe and sound, he would die content. He defeated them at their own game, and was prepared for whatever was coming next.

Luther screamed down at him, "Not thorough enough? You have no idea what I went through to ensure this day was perfect! How could you have known?"

Kaiba just grinned, too tired to say anything, anyway. The grin would be enough of a spit in the face. And he was rewarded with having the mad man belt him at the side of the face, causing him to collapse again.

Luther then pulled back the trigger and aimed it right against his head, saying, "How does it feel to know you're about to die, Seto Kaiba?"

Kaiba weakly turned his head to face Luther, not seeming to care of the danger in the least. Instead, he gave the man those cold piercing eyes, as he roughly managed to reply, "...better not miss. If I don't die, you'll regret it."

Luther was so angry, the gun was shaking in his hand. This wasn't how his revenge was supposed to be, at all. He pulled the gun away and kicked him hard, yelling, "How the hell can you face death with no fear! I have seen you afraid before, Kaiba...and not because your brother was in danger, either. Just after you taken down Gozaburo, you faced someone in a game you created. He defeated you in that game, and...did something to you. Right there on public TV, you had the look of terror in your eyes. It was the look a person has on their face when they know they're going to die. I never forgot that face. And after you betrayed and killed my brother, I wanted nothing more than to make you have that look on your face again. So, WHY DON'T YOU NOW FEAR DEATH?"

Kaiba remembered the day he was talking about...Death T. His priorities were different then, thanks to his stepfather's brainwashing, or more likely his own stupidity. With the hint of a smile, he replied, "I all ready faced it once. It's overrated."

"We still have him, sir." The soldier said. "Seto Kaiba 'was' our main target. Can't we simply kill him, now?"

"The brat was the one that was important, you dolt!" The man shrieked. "He is the key to Seto Kaiba's torment. Without him, we cannot succeed in making him suffer the ultimate fate after betraying my brother! How many times must I repeat this for you people to understand?"

"But, we have him." Another man said. "We can use him as a hostage to perhaps lure his brother back here."

Luther spat, "That will never work! By this time, the police and the media are involved! Things are too messy, now!" He took a few breaths to try and prevent himself from hyperventilating, then turned back to look at his crumpled up prisoner on the ground. "The best we can do now is cut our losses and be done with it."

Luther squatted down, pulling Kaiba's head up by his hair, stating, "You may 'think' you got away with something, Kaiba...but you got away with nothing! I will 'not' give you the benefit of being granted a quick death. We will keep you and beat you until you wish you were dead, before we finally kill you. And when you are dead, we will wait until everything quiets down...then once again when they least expect it, we will kill Mokuba, too. So, you see, Seto Kaiba...you have really won at 'nothing'. We didn't originally want your brother, we wanted you. Eventually, we would have killed you and spared him. But because of your interference, we will kill you both!"

"Uh...but, I thought we was gonna kill the brat, too." One of the stupid guards said.

"Will you shut up!" Luther spat. He turned and walked away, ordering the guards, "Have your fun with him. Do 'not' kill him...yet."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

For the next few weeks, no one could find any sign of Seto Kaiba, despite their efforts. Mokuba had hoped by now to get a phone call from the kidnappers, but there was nothing from them.

And Kaiba had been beaten to the very inch of his life. And Luther might have been right that he would have prayed for death, except that Luther had made 2 more stupid mistakes. First, the man had foolishly told Kaiba that after his death, he would seek out and kill his brother. And secondly, no one knew that the Duel Monster's card around his neck was a picture of Mokuba.

Shortly after they had left him alone to suffer with the pains of his wounds, he would take that moment to once again open the pendant and look at his brother's picture, helping to give him renewed hope. No matter how badly his condition became...he still fought tooth and nail to hold onto every bit of life he had, so that Mokuba would be safe. His existence depended on Mokuba's safety.

And none of the soldiers could believe that there was, even now...still some fight left in him. And today they had to once again report to Luther on their progress.

"This is dumb." Lt. Korgy said. "The longer we hold onto him, the bigger the chances we're gonna get caught."

Lt. Mane stuttered, "I-I've heard that they're getting closer to finding us. If they do, and this guy is still here, we're all gonna burn for it!"

"Listen." Korgy said. "Just don't say anything...leave this meeting to me."

They approached Luther that day, who said, "Report."

Korgy saluted, saying, "Seto Kaiba is officially a broken man, sir. There is absolutely nothing more we can do to him."

"Are you certain?" He asked.

Lt. Mane nervously glanced Korgy's way, praying that Luther wasn't going to catch on that he was blatantly lying.

Korgy added with a sneer, "Today as we beat him, he begged for us to kill him."

Luther nodded, "Very good. It's about time. I'm assigning you two to drive to the edge of the island and finish him off there. I don't care how you do it...just do it and make sure you don't botch it up."

"Yes, sir!" Korgy said and the 2 left to finish off Kaiba.


	2. Chapter 2

**YUGIOH**

Getting Back to Square 1

Chapter 2.

The two soldiers gave each other a high-five it as they dragged Kaiba into their military jeep and drove to a place they called Canyon's Ridge.

"Man, I thought we were toast." Mane said. "I was sure the boss was going to check and make sure."

"He's been feeling the heat, too." Korgy said. "I think by now, he also couldn't wait for the guy to give in."

They both loaded Kaiba up into an army jeep and got in. Korgy looked back and smiled, saying. "Well, Kaiba...this is your last stop, I'm afraid. Luther's convinced you wanted to die, so now we finally get to ditch you. What do you think of that?"

There was no answered from Kaiba, who was far too weak to say or do anything. He could only hope the right time would come for him to miraculously escape. But, it would take a miracle. He had almost nothing left to give.

They drove to the a cliff high on the other side of the island.

Mane noticed where they were at, and asked. "Why here? This is a junk yard."

"It's a good place to hide a body." Korgy said.

They dragged him out to the edge of the cliff where a watery grave invited anyone that dared jump off. Korgy then looked over at Mane and said. "Okay...now shoot him."

"ME?" Mane said, fearfully. "Why do I have to shoot him? Then if the cops come after us, I'll be the murderer! You shoot him!"

Korgy pointed the gun at Kaiba, who still looked up at them defiantly, despite being unable to move and barely recognizable with all the bruises all over him and the lack of nourishment. Korgy kept pointing the gun at him, but Kaiba was simply disgusted at them...all ready seeing the outcome.

'Gutless losers.' He thought, knowing Korgy wasn't going to shoot, either.

Sure enough, Korgy lowered the gun...lacking the stomach to shoot a man in cold blood, especially one that obviously posed no threat. "Listen, he's not going anywhere. Let's just dump his body in one of these junk cars and roll it off the cliff. He can't survive that. Then, no one has to shoot him...right?"

"Okay!" Mane said. They pulled a scrap heap out with their jeep, threw him in and rolled it off the cliff. After it crashed into the water, they watched it for 3 seconds as the remains of the car slowly sank into the water.

They then turned and walked away. "He's dead...problem solved."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Despite the beatings, Kaiba had been doing anything to conserve even the least amount of strength for one last surge to fight back...anything that might help him to somehow get out of this. He was expecting to use that strength on the guards, to maybe throw something at them - like a rock. Instead, that last bit of energy was going to be used to try and escape a vehicle before he drowned.

Fortunately, the old wreck that was used had roll-down windows instead of electric. He used his remaining strength to slowly roll down the window he was nearest to, hold his breath, and slip out before the car plummeted too far under water.

But as it was, to survive and get more air he needed to surface. There was no way he was going to be able to hide that from them in his condition...he was too weak. And only an absolute moron would not stick around for atleast 5 minutes and ensure the job was done right. So, either way...he was doomed. But that didn't mean he wouldn't atleast try for Mokuba's sake.

He reached the top that wasn't very far up and gasped for air. But, all Kaiba's energy was used in the struggle and his consciousness began to fade into blackness.

'Forgive me, Mokuba...I failed you.' He thought, as he blacked out and the water swept over his head.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Joey walked along the island beach, sulking for now the third day. 'Of all the fuck'n timing, Dad.' He thought, dreading this task that his Dad had asked for him to do.

His Dad and a bunch of his buddies ended up in jail a few days ago, for drunken disorderly and brawling, which added multiple counts of assault. When his Dad called to tell him he would be in jail atleast a few months because of it, Joey would have liked to hear. 'I'm sorry, son...for being such a crappy Dad.' Or some explanation as to what he was going to do living off of nothing in their fridge for the time he was gone, or atleast beg Joey to find a way to get him out of this.

But, that wasn't why his Dad called. The only reason he seemed to be upset that he was in jail was because he had set up some great place that he and his buds occasionally hung out for a week to drink themselves practically to death free of charge. All they had to do was 'be' there. Personally, Joey found it suspicious. But, his Dad begged him to go there, since he couldn't be there, himself.

"If none of us go, we're gonna lose this place to someone else!" His Dad panicked. "You gotta do this for me, son!"

"So, cuz you got in jail...I'm supposed to hang out at this place for a week, during my summer vacation, so that you guys still have a place you can drink yerselves sick?" Joey asked him, getting angry.

"That's right...be a good boy and do this for Daddy!" His old man said.

"And what the hell am I supposed to eat? Beer?" Joey snapped.

"They got all shit loads of canned food and crap there. Ya can't run out. Plus, you have fishing poles. You can fish. Just make it a camping trip with your friends free of charge. They'll love ya for it!" The old man said.

Those were the words that convinced Joey to agree with his Dad. He called up the people his Dad wanted him to, and got the time and place where they would ship him to this deserted island. Then in a week, they'd ship him back.

The problem was, when he asked his friends the next day to come with him, the news channels had all ended up going crazy about how Seto Kaiba was kidnapped and the kidnapper was found and admitted to killing Kaiba, but refused to give the whereabouts on where he buried the body.

That not only killed the mood for Yugi, Tea, and Tristan...but Joey, too. After he heard that, he didn't want to go to this, either. But, he had no choice. He made the arrangements and agreed with his Dad. And after asking his friends, sure enough everyone was too upset to go on any fishing trip with him.

So, here was Joey walking down the abandoned island all by himself, feeling upset, depressed, and lonely. Plus, the food sucked. They had tons and tons of pea soup and creamed corn, an entire fridge filled of beer, a sink for water, and fishing gear for catching fish.

'If I knew how to catch fish.' Joey thought. So, now he was going to have to live off of food he hated for a week bored out of his mind until the ship came to take him back home. 'I just wish I wasn't alone, here.'

Joey then looked ahead to see some pile of black and brown on the beach ahead of him and shook his head. "Whaddya know...the crap from the mainland can make it all the way over here."

Joey then walked up to the pile of trash to see what the waves kept crashing against. Never in a million years did he expect this. "Oh, shit..."

He ran over to where Kaiba's broken body lay, praying that the guy was somehow still alive and breathing.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Kaiba slowly awoke. The first thing to his senses was intense pain everywhere. There was some kind of light coming from somewhere that hurt before he even opened his eyes. He wasn't sure if the two idiot guards realized he resurfaced and went down to grab him from the water and pull him back to the camp. But he didn't hear anything, which was unusual…it was so quiet. Either way, he needed to figure out where he was.

The lesser of the two swollen eyes managed to open a crack, to see that he was in some sort of room. The room lacked any sort of painting, making it a natural gray wood, both on the top and sides. He was in some kind of bed with covers, but where was no way he was going to be able to see what it looked like since he couldn't move his head. He could now see the window that was causing the painful light to hit his right eye, causing more pain.

This didn't look like the camp, and there no people keeping guard, or the sounds of jeeps or helicopters in the distance. He had a feeling he was no longer at the camp. But, then where was he? Wherever he was, he didn't think out of danger, yet. No…too easy.

An uncontrollable coughing fit then hit him, though he barely had the strength to cough, and it hurt when he did. Plus, after coughing, it seemed to have attracted someone to approach him. 'Atleast I'll get some answers.' He thought, knowing he'd be too weak to do anything if he was captured again, anyway.

"Hey, you awake in there?" Came a familiar voice. It was on the left side of him...the side his eye was closed on. And he was too tired to turn. Fortunately, the person moved for him, and came to the other side of the bed.

Kaiba was in such bad shape, Joey couldn't tell if his eyes were open or closed and wondering if he coughed while unconscious or awake. But then with effort, his lips moved and managed to take the shape of one word: mutt.

Joey laughed, unable to be angry...he was just too happy that Kaiba was still alive. "I guess ya are still in there. Everyone should a known you were still alive. Assholes never get taken down that easy! But, wow...did they do a number on you. Geez, it's like they shoved ya in a blender or something. Who did this to ya?"

Kaiba showed no sign of answering. He slowly pulled his tongue out to lick his lips then had another slight cough hit him.

"Well, don't you worry, man." Joey continued to say. "Even if we are in a pretty abandoned place, fortunately this shack actually has an emergency phone. I'll just called up Yugi and have him call yer brother to come get us. That'll be good too, cuz if I stay at this dump another minute, I'm gonna..."

Joey was turning to head to the phone when he stopped and shut up. Kaiba had miraculously managed to pull his hand out and grab Joey's shirt with a vice grip that just wouldn't let go.

"Huh?" Joey asked. "What's wrong?"

Slowly, Kaiba managed to gently shake his head no.

"No? You mean you don't want me to call?" Joey asked. It was returned with a very subtle nod. "Are you crazy?" Joey snapped at him. "Did you see what shape yer in? You could have internal bleeding fer all I know! You need some kind of medical help, and I aint no doctor!"

Again, Kaiba gently shook his head no.

Joey managed to rip himself out of Kaiba's grip, snapping. "Ya stupid stubborn bastard! Why the hell not?"

Slowly, his mouth shaped the word: danger.

"Danger?" Joey asked. "What do you mean, danger? Are you still in danger? Is Mokuba in danger?"

A gentle nod.

"Then we gotta call him and warn him!" Joey said. A gentle no.

Joey sighed, thinking about this. Finally, he said. "Fine. You obviously know more about this than I do. I'll take your word for it, for now. I wont call, then. But, I don't know how ya expect me to take care of you. I mean...you know you're really risking your own life, if you're expecting me to be able to handle helping ya out. Not ta say I wont try, but I don't know shit about what to do first for ya."

He worded something Joey couldn't understand. Joey came closer, asking. "What?"

"Promise..." He whispered.

Joey moved back and scowled. "Yeah, I promise I wont call! Jerk! Didn't ya hear what I said about your life?"

Kaiba looked away, not seeming to care.


	3. Chapter 3

**YUGIOH**

Getting Back to Square 1

Narr: Romance/suspense, yaoi, J/K. Kaiba ran into some bad luck in order to save Mokuba from another kidnapping, and it's up to Joey to nurse him back to health. Why not...everyone else has probably done a similar plot atleast once. Rated, PG-13.

Chapter 3.

"Hey, Serenity?" Joey asked on the phone. "How do you take care of something if it's been hurt really bad?"

"Why, did you find something?" Serenity asked.

Joey looked towards Kaiba that wasn't moving. "Yeah, I found a wounded...cat. It looks all beat-up from the waves, and can barely move. And I was wondering..."

"Awwwwwww, that poor kitty!" Serenity almost wailed. "What's he look like? Tell me what he looks like! Did you name him? Is it a he or she?"

"Serenity! This is important, here! I don't want the thing dying on me!" Joey said.

"Okay, okay. You have to find some way to get it to eat and drink. You also have to clean off all it's boo-boo's, and give it a nice, safe, and warm place to rest. Make sure it's not cold." Serenity said.

"Okay...hold on." He said, writing all this down.

"Does Daddy's place have medicine for cuts or bruises? It'll help prevent infection." She said.

"Uh...what kind of medicine?" Joey asked.

Serenity answered. "Hydrogen peroxide, rubbing alcohol...stuff like that. Don't use Neosporin, though…cats can't handle that like people can."

"Okay…I'll look." Joey said. "Yeah, I got it. Is that it?"

"Try to feel on the little guy's legs and tail and make sure he didn't break anything. If he did, you might have to make a stint to keep that part still." She said.

Joey flinched. "Do I hafta?"

"Yes. And those wounds will have to be cleaned at least once a day." Serenity said.

"Okay, okay. Geez, is that it?" Joey asked.

"Oh, and if it gets better...can I keep it? Dad doesn't like animals, so..."

"No! Thanks, sis...I'll call ya later." Joey said. He hung up, not hearing her cry 'wait'...still anxious to hear more about the cute cat he found.

He walked back over to the bed to see Kaiba using the small crack of his eye, in the sad attempt to give him a dirty look.

"Don't look at me that way." Joey said. "I promised I wouldn't call and tell anyone about you. Well, I didn't say a thing about ya, so are you happy? I had to atleast find out what I gotta do with you, so you can get better, you know!"

Kaiba closed his eye and turned away.

"Don't think you can just ignore me, now. By making me promise not to tell anyone, that made me in charge of taking care of you. And that's exactly what I'm gonna do. I aint no nurse, but I'll do what I can. And I better not get any problems from ya either. Ya got that, patient?" Joey asked him.

He didn't know if Kaiba heard him or not. Either he was sleeping now, or he was ignoring him.

"Well...either way, I got some work to do." Joey said, more to himself than Kaiba. 'Well, Joey...you know what they say. Be careful what you wish for, cuz ya might just get it. I guess I'm not alone, now.'

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

When Joey succeeded in dragging Kaiba's limp body to the island shack, he had all ready known enough common sense to rip off all the ragged wet clothes, dry off his bruised up body the best he could and toss him into bed with covers to keep him warm. Now he had to somehow clean off all his wounds, apply medicine, and patch him up.

'This sucks.' He thought. 'His whole damn body is one big boo-boo. I'm going to end up bathing the guy in this stuff every day.'

Speaking of bathing…he also had to somehow give him a bath. But then after thinking for a moment, he realized. 'Hey...he was in salt water for like who-knows, right? So, basically...he all ready had a bath this day. So, I should just hydrogen peroxide the crap out of him and he'll be fine, at least for today. Then we'll deal with it tomorrow.'

So, Joey poured some peroxide in a bowl, grabbed a sponge and moved over to the bed. "Rise and shine, Kaiba. I should warn you...this is probably gonna hurt."

Joey was starting to identify the subtle movement from the one eye to figure out that Kaiba was managing to open it just enough to look out.

Kaiba looked at the sponge, the bowl, and Joey's grinning face, and thought. 'Fuck, no.' He gently shook his head.

"Sorry, Kaiba...but you made me promise not to call some emergency squad on you. That means you're stuck with me to care for you. So, it's this or I use the phone...what's it gonna be?" He asked.

He put out a slight moan, then finally gave a slight nod. "Good. I thought you'd see it my way. It's just a little peroxide to help all those wounds of yours...all over you. So, it's probably gonna hurt. Anyway, just don't fight with me, otherwise it'll probably hurt more."

Yep...it hurt. It was like Joey had a little bowl of acid he was dabbing Kaiba with. Good thing he had a high threshold of pain. He certainly had a lot of practice with pain resistance, anyway...especially recently.

Joey could tell it hurt him, from the grunting noises he made. But he wasn't sure if he didn't cry out more than that because he was tough, or because he was simply too weak to put up anymore of a fuss.

But, as Joey reached his legs, he noticed something else. His leg had an old puncture wound in it that looked like it was given minimal care for...as if he had been shot and patched up. But it wasn't treated well, and looked like it might have a slight infection.

"Wow...dude, what happened?" Joey asked. Kaiba didn't answer, and Joey didn't expect him to, anyway. "You know I'm gonna have ta take care of this too, otherwise you could be in deep shit. But, I warn ya...this one's gonna be a bitch."

Kaiba knew it was coming...there was nothing to be done about it. He would just have to endure a bit more. After some hesitation, Kaiba finally nodded.

Joey used the peroxide and soaked it best he could, which caused the substance to sizzle pretty well in the wound.

Kaiba's jaw clenched tight, as he let out a whimper from the excruciating pain. For a moment, he had another flash of hoping for death to come...but squelched it quickly, once again reminding himself that Mokuba needed him to stay alive.

Finally, Joey had finished dousing him with the stuff. He moved away from his experimental patient, wet down a rag, then brought it back. "Okay, the last part is your face. It's a good thing you don't have a mirror, Kaiba...cuz I don't think you'd want to look at yourself, right now. It's pretty bad. I mean, even I can barely recognize ya. At first when I saw you, I thought you were one of those clubbed seals that somehow ended up over here. The dead giveaway is that necklace of yours. You know you still have it? I can't believe that picture is still okay, too. That card pendant must be waterproof or something. What do you do, shower with the thing, too? Anyway, here it comes."

Suddenly, Kaiba shook his head no.

"Listen...I know it's gonna hurt. But I gotta do this." Joey said.

Kaiba swallowed and tried to say something. Again, Joey came closer, as he whispered. "Mokuba..."

"Oh...you wanna see the picture first? Okay." Joey said.

He carefully pulled the pendant up and opened it up. Joey then turned it Kaiba's way, allowing him to see Mokuba's picture inside. Just like Joey said, it was still in perfect shape...even now.

"He's a cute kid." Joey said. "I don't even want to think about what he's going through right now, not knowing you're still alive. You sure you don't want me to have Yugi call him?"

He shook his head no. "So, ya ready for the face now?" He shook his head yes.

"Okay." Joey said, putting the pendant back down.

It was a godsend for Kaiba over that last fateful mistake that Luther made. Even though the man knew that Mokuba was his strength, the fool never had the necklace removed from him. Clearly he didn't realize what was inside the card, and never bothered to find out. But, just like every night when he found the strength to open that pendant up and renew his will to keep fighting for his life, that same pendant now helped him to endure the healing process he was going to have to deal with from Joey, as well.

Joey carefully padded his face with the peroxide to also get all the cuts and bruises on it. Each dab caused Kaiba to make a choking-sounding grunt. It wasn't nearly as bad as the bullet wound, but it still felt pretty painful. "Okay, keep that one eye closed, I gotta dab them, too. Don't worry...when I'm done, I'm going to dab it with this cold rag. With luck, it wont continue to sting."

Yeah...around the eyes especially hurt. And the wet rag hurt too, but it did help the burning go away, afterwards...unlike the rest of the body.

"Okay." Joey said, putting that aside. "That part is done. Next on the list of 'how to take care of a wounded cat' is that I need to make sure you eat and drink something. So, let me see if I can take care of that part, next."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

A couple minutes later, Joey came back, saying. "We're in luck. We got a whole pack a straws here, so that you don't have to move. How do you like that? The first one is the easiest...we got a nice cold glass of water here. I'm gonna shove this straw in your mouth, and I want you to drink as much as you can. Okay?"

Kaiba answered with a nod. So, Joey got the straw in his mouth and he began to slowly drink. After patiently waiting for Kaiba to drink what he can, he was surprised to see the guy drank the whole glass down.

"Damn...you were thirsty!" Joey stated. "Glad I got that in you. Next is food for ya. This is gonna be a little tougher, though. I mean, you can barely open your mouth, which under normal circumstances is probably a blessing...but not for this. And you can't sit up right now, either. That leaves my options to making you eat also with the straw system, like you did with that water. The down side to that is I'm going to have to probably water down your food to do it. So, the crap I got to eat here, will probably taste even crappier for you. But, at least you'll get food in you. So, here's your choice...we got creamed corn, or split pea soup. Nod your head yes for corn, or no for the pea soup. Which is it?"

Kaiba didn't answer.

"Come on...you know you gotta have one of them. Either that, or I choose, myself. So, which one?"

After a moment, Kaiba finally chose 'no'.

"Split pea? Okay. Personally...I would have picked the corn. But then, I suppose after it was watered down, I'd never want to touch the shit again. So, maybe that's a good call, after all." Joey said, and walked away.

A few minutes later, he was back with a green drink. "I had to get the peas out of it so it wouldn't get stuck in the straw. Then I thinned it down, so it wasn't too thick. I warmed it up with the nuker, but I didn't make it hot since I figured that might burn your mouth...and that's probably the only thing left on you that don't hurt."

Kaiba was actually glad about that part. His lips were also bruised and cracked from the beatings and feeling hot on it would hurt. Luther also made him lose a back tooth after smacking him so hard on the side of the jaw with his hand gun. He took one sip, and gave off a disapproving grunt and managed to move his face away from the straw.

"Hey, you can't stop. Ya gotta eat this!" Joey said. "Come on...how bad can it be?" Joey dabbed one finger in and tasted it, then started looking green, himself. "Yeeach. Sorry dude, but it's all I got that's liquidy enough to suck through a straw. Come on...if you don't eat something, you wont get better. And I'm telling ya now...you don't look healthy. You obviously hadn't eaten in awhile, wherever they had you. You can't survive on water. At least do it, so you can see your brother again."

After a moment, Kaiba turned back and tried again. Joey could see him wince from the taste. But, after a while, he managed to go as far as choke 1/2 a glass down.

"Hey...great job!" Joey said. "Now, get some rest. I'll try not to bug ya for awhile."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

It was late when some movement woke Kaiba back up. Joey had crawled into the double wide bed that he was laying in, trying to be quiet about it. But Kaiba was a light sleeper, especially now that every little movement hurt him. Joey quietly kept rolled away from him and went to sleep, himself. Kaiba could only assume wherever they were, it must only have one bed.

Now awake, Kaiba tried to piece together where he was. Could he be on the mainland? There was no sound of the streets of Domino outside the door...no cars, no people. He thought earlier he heard a Sea Gull, which meant he was still near water. Had his body made it all the way to the mainland? How did he survive it? Things weren't entirely making sense. But, he was hoping his body would heal up enough that maybe tomorrow he'd be able to talk a little more than he was able to right now. And it didn't help any that Joey began to snore next to him, as well.

With his eye, he glanced over at the sleeping form of Joey. He didn't believe in accepting charity, but he needed to get to Mokuba and he was in too bad a shape to get better, himself. And as much as he was a loner, he felt a strange comfort that he was no longer by himself...even if it was Joey. If he didn't survive the experience, he really didn't want to die alone.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Narr: I'm glad everyone seems to be enjoying the story, so far. Sorry I haven't made any narrative comments until now. I've been really busy. I particularly enjoyed writing this particular fic, but it took a long time for me to finish it.

Having a wounded character that another character has to help get better is actually quite common. I guess I wanted to try my hand in it, this time around. But in all the different ones I have read, there were some things I wanted to see in them that I never found.

So, basically I decided to try myself and see how it would turn out. I didn't want to rush into them being together, and have them coincidentally find each other without any real good explanation. Both sides had to have a background and a good reason to run into each other. How does Joey find Kaiba? How is Joey alone at the time when he finds him, when he's normally almost always with Yugi and friends? Well, the plots happened to help that along…and that brings me to another point I found that makes good story writing.

In a romance fic, I find not making the romance the story plot the best thing one can do. Creating a story and putting romance in works so much better and is so much more interesting to the reader. It almost always makes a better story, than attempting to make the romance the main plot.

So, those are my thoughts regarding these last three chapters. I hope everyone enjoys the latest installment.


	4. Chapter 4

**YUGIOH**

Getting Back to Square 1

Narr: Romance/suspense, yaoi, J/K. Kaiba ran into some bad luck in order to save Mokuba from another kidnapping, and it's up to Joey to nurse him back to health. Why not...everyone else has probably done a similar plot atleast once. Rated, PG-13.

Chapter 4.

Joey's movement woke him up the following morning, as the blond got up and stretched, itching his side. He looked behind him to see the one eyeball staring at him. Joey then smiled and pointed, saying. "Hey, I think you're opening that eye a little more. I can actually tell it's open now!" Talking to him as if that was supposed to be a big accomplishment.

He then got out of bed, saying. "Sorry 'bout that last night, but we only got one bed in this dump. I guess my Dad used ta come here once in a while with his drinking buds to drink and pass out at, while fishing. They have some sleeping bags here too. But, unless you're drunk and ready to pass out, there's no way a person can sleep in that on the hard wood floors they got here. It's big enough for the two of us, so you'll just have to live with it, for now."

Joey then blinked, saying. "Oh, yeah...you probably don't even know where you are, huh? We're on this...island. I really don't know where it is, myself. All I know is that my Dad wanted me to come cuz, well...he couldn't make it. His friends couldn't either, so I had to stay here for him. If I don't, he loses his fishing spot. They took me here in this ship to basically hang out. Then in a week, the ship comes back and gets me. During that time, if the owner calls me, I guess...I'm supposed to look around and make sure there's no trespassers showing up or nutt'n."

Joey's conversation suddenly caused Kaiba to realize...he never left the island at all. He was already near the shore, when they tossed the car in the water. He must have simply gotten swept up on the beach. That meant, now they could both be in danger. And Joey probably didn't even realize that he wasn't the only person on this island. Kaiba could only hope that none of them showed up and found him alive...otherwise, they'd probably both be killed.

And he was surprised no one actually noticed he didn't die in that water. He could only assume those two soldiers really were stupid enough to leave without making sure he didn't come back up in the water. Because if they stayed, there would be no way he'd still be here. They would have come for him, by now.

Also on the good side...if he could recover quick enough, he basically had two possible ways of getting back home. The first was the very boat Joey had mentioned. The second was going back to that base, stealing a plane or helicopter, and heading home that way. But he would decide later once he got better.

Joey was still rambling. "Personally, I find it here boring as all hell. It's actually kinda nice having company here...even if it is a beat-up version a you."

He then stood up and stretched. "Well, I'm gonna get changed and stuff...maybe I'll get some breakfast. Wont be much better than your food, though. My choices are the same as yours, except I can also try and catch a fish, too. The only problem is I really don't know much about fishing. Oh, well. I'll take care of you, afterwards. On the good side, we got satellite TV in this joint. I'll try and give you an update on your death, if they mention it again."

Joey was out of Kaiba's view for a good 1/2 hour. During that time, he began to test his different body parts to see what he could move, yet. Everything was still sore as hell...but he could start to move his fingers and toes without hurting too bad, so at least they weren't broken. He couldn't tell on his legs and arms...he didn't want to chance them, yet. His tongue came out to lick his lips which felt a little better and he realized he really could open his eye a bit more. The other one was able to start opening, as well...though it hurt to do so. Strangely enough, he was feeling a little light-headed today, and didn't know why. He gave another rasping cough which hurt like hell, then Joey came in.

"You know, I looked over the list again, and realized I didn't check to see if anything's broken, yet. So, before I do...would you happen to know off-hand if anything's broken?" He asked.

"Dunno..." Kaiba mostly whispered, but the crack of his voice managed to sneak in there.

"Cool, I actually heard that." Joey said. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you 'are' getting better. Maybe after this, I could get into doctoring and stuff. I seem to be a natural at it!"

Kaiba rolled his eyes with his eyes closed, thinking just how stupid Joey was.

"Okay...then that means I gotta check you out. It'll probably hurt, since you're all beat-up. Just keep in mind I aint trying to feel you up or nutt'n. I just gotta check for breaks." Joey said.

Kaiba's mouth opened, and managed to squeak out. "I aint a fuck'n cat."

"Huh?" Joey asked. He then laughed, not sure if it was from the comment or relief hearing some kind of semi-voice from Kaiba who hasn't said that much since he found him. But afterwards, Kaiba ended up having another choking fit.

"Whoa, whoa...try not to talk too much. You don't wanna rush things. I know you aint a cat. But I figure the same thing applies. Besides, what the hell else was I going to tell her? Seto Kaiba washed up on the beach and I was trying to fix you up? I know you don't want no one knowing yer alive. By the way, when you can talk better, you gotta explain that whole thing to me, cuz I aint seeing why you don't want me to get you some help." Joey said.

Joey was on the island, and seemed to have been assigned as a look out. Kaiba could assume Luther must occasionally have some goons pick up random scum on the streets of Japan just to watch certain areas, once in a while. And no doubt the phone was tapped. All Joey would have to do was mention Kaiba on the phone, and they probably would have been down here minutes later and killed them both. Kaiba was never more relieved in being his normal paranoid self. It had actually pulled him and Mokuba through this last month...and maybe even Joey too, now.

Joey was now pulling parts of the cover aside, trying to feel up Kaiba's battered legs to make sure nothing was broken. It hurt like hell, but Kaiba had also felt what it was like to have broken bones before...and they didn't feel broken. He could assume because Luther wanted to assure he didn't die from the beatings, that they didn't hit him hard enough to break anything inside...only the outside. He also remembered them painfully digging out the slug and patching up the bullet wound atleast enough to keep him alive, so that theory basically made sense.

That was good. It meant he could technically recover quite quickly, as long as he didn't fight Joey and actually eat that nasty gruel shit that he identified as split pea. He didn't like the cold chill that pulling the covers back gave him, though. It seemed to stay there, even after Joey moved the covers back down.

"Okay, let's check your arms." Joey said. Again, it hurt...but they didn't feel broken. Kaiba was actually surprised his jaw wasn't broken. But he was able to choke out a couple words, so it had to be okay.

Then, just to be thorough, Joey checked his head. Kaiba flinched. "Hmm? Looks like you got some dried blood up here. Uh...is that bad?"

Kaiba choked out. "Concussion."

"Okay...what's that mean?" Joey asked.

"'t's healing...I'm okay." He slurred/whispered out.

"Okay...if you say so. I'm gonna trust your word, so you better not be shitting me by playing some stupid tough act." Joey said. "Well, let's get some food in you. It's your turn for breakfast."

'Joy...' Kaiba thought.

Kaiba didn't drink nearly as much water. He also found himself not very hungry, but forced some down, anyway. It was terrible, and he only ate 1/3 the glass this time. Joey didn't like him eating even less, but decided he had all day and wasn't going to push him.

So, next was the actual bath. After careful thought and searching everything in the shack, Joey came back to tell Kaiba what he came up with.

"Okay...I really didn't want to sponge ya down on the bed, cause it might make the sheets wet. So, here's what I thought. I got this nice table cloth here I'm gonna put on my side of the bed. Since nutt'ns broken, I'm gonna scooch you on top of it and give you the sponge down/peroxide crap on that. Then after I dry you off, I'll put you back down on your side and wash this thing off. How's that sound to you?" Joey asked.

Kaiba cleared his throat, and whispered out. "Fuck off."

"Hey, ya think I wanna do this shit? If I don't do this and you get infected by all those bruises all over you, you aint gonna get better, you'll get worst...and you know it! So, shut yer damn mouth...you're gonna get this done. Got it?" Joey snapped. Kaiba turned away.

"Ungrateful bastard. You're even an asshole when you're 1/2 dead." Joey grumbled.

So, against Kaiba's own wishes, he proceeded to do just that. He put the table cloth down and began to slowly scooched him over. It wasn't that Kaiba didn't want to bathe...the idea of keeping clean was always a pleasant one in his mind. But having Joey clean him was not. He didn't like being treated like an invalid...even if he was, right now. Plus, the cold from outside the covers was worst than the pain, at the moment. He didn't want to be cold…he wanted to be warm.

But, trying to fight being pushed over was only going to hurt more, and he wanted to get better quicker. But, he still hated it...every little bit. He was being fully exposed in front of Joey, he was cold, the warm water hurt his wounds and made him feel even colder, the peroxide burned and made it hurt worst, plus the soap hurt just as much as the peroxide. Then he wetted him down again, making him feel even colder.

And if that wasn't enough, Joey had to add. "Yeah, with this weather we got today, getting a wash down probably makes you feel nice and cool, huh?"

"Fuck you." He whispered, unable to wait to huddle back under those covers, again.

When Joey finished, he was actually surprised to see it looked like Kaiba had goose bumps from that.

'Geez, it's freak'n warm out...why does he seem cold? Maybe the bruises make him a lot colder than normal.' He carefully dried him off, joking. "You know...when I said I wouldn't mind being friends and all, I never actually meant I wanted to get 'this' close."

He then toweled off the table cloth and said. "Well, you're done...let's get you back under the covers. You look a little cold, for some reason."

Together, they managed to get him back under as Kaiba huddled into the covers, feeling the first moment of pleasure since the kidnapping. It was so nice and warm, underneath.

"By the way." Joey said. "Now that we got all that taken care of...while I was searching the place, I found a pack of cards. They aint Duel Monsters, but it's something to do. You wanna play? It might help pass the time."

To Joey's surprise, Kaiba actually nodded slightly.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Despite Kaiba's condition, he still already proved that he had the strength in his fingertips to hold someone in place, when he grabbed onto Joey yesterday, keeping him from calling anyone on the phone. So, holding some cards in his hand wasn't a problem. The tricky part was to figure out how to get him to put cards down. Joey had placed a small table at the edge of the bed and grabbed a seat next to it, across from Kaiba. He then came up with an idea how to get Kaiba to play the card he wanted.

"Okay...I put down a 6 a diamonds. You got a 6 or a diamond you can put down?" Joey asked, now beginning their third game.

Kaiba nodded, getting tired of trying to choke out words. In fact, he was getting tired all together, and was considering giving up on this droll game of cards and huddle into bed to sleep. Not that he was a sleeper. Far from it. But he also knew rest would get him better that much quicker, getting himself back to Mokuba quicker as well. He didn't like worrying his little brother.

"Okay...just remember and let me know when I hit the number. 1, 2, 3..."

Kaiba nodded at three, and Joey counted three from the left and pulled the card. He put it down on top of his own.

"A six of clubs, huh? So, either you got no diamonds, or you're just baiting me again. You know, personally I'm still trying to figure out how a beat-up invalid like you still managed to beat me in the last 2 card games of Crazy Eight's. Kaiba?"

Joey shut up when he noticed the cards suddenly slip from Kaiba's hands onto the floor. He then huddled under the covers, shying away from the game."

"Kaiba...you okay?" Joey asked, picking up the cards and seeing he did have a few diamonds, after all.

"Tired." He quietly slurred, seeming to be drifting to sleep.

Joey nodded. "Okay. Hey, no problem...you need your rest. I'll bug ya later."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

It was later at night when Joey came back over to check on Kaiba. He hadn't moved since he curled up, earlier that day.

"Man...you sleep like a rock." Joey muttered. 'I'd hate to know exactly what those kidnappers did to ya. I've never seen anyone messed up as badly as you. Never thought I'd ever think this way, but poor Kaiba.'

He placed a hand on the top of the covers, saying. "Come on, sunshine...it's time to eat again." That's when Joey noticed it felt like Kaiba was shivering underneath. "Damn...are you cold under there?" He asked. There was still no response.

Joey then reached and checked his head. Kaiba was sweating and burning up. "Oh, shit...you got a fever." Now, what was he going to do?


	5. Chapter 5

**YUGIOH**

Getting Back to Square 1

Narr: Romance/suspense, yaoi, J/K. Kaiba ran into some bad luck in order to save Mokuba from another kidnapping, and it's up to Joey to nurse him back to health. Why not...everyone else has probably done a similar plot atleast once. Rated, PG-13.

Chapter 5.

"Why didn't ya say anything before, ya dumbass?" Joey snapped at him. "Uh...okay, hold on. They got some fever pills in the cabinet. We'll get you cooled down."

He ran to the bathroom medicine cabinet, getting out the pills and them some water. He then ran back over to where Kaiba was. "You awake? Come on, ya gotta take this or you'll get worst."

The trembling Kaiba managed to open his mouth for Joey to put the pill in. Before he could give him his water, it all ready sounded like Kaiba was choking from it. "You're supposed to wait for the water, you stupid prick! You can't get that down without a drink!"

Kaiba then took some water and managed to swallow it. He then huddled back in, continuing to tremble.

"Listen...you're awake. I want you to try and drink more of this. I'll leave this on the table for you. Don't go anywhere!" He said, moving away quickly.

'Where am I going to go?' Kaiba wondered tiredly. The dizziness had increased over the day, and now he was even cold with the covers on. He just wanted sleep to take him away from this and hopefully he'd wake up and be over it.

Joey was on the phone, when Serenity answered. "Serenity! Hey, listen. The, uh...cat has a fever. What do I do?"

"Oh, my..." She said worried. "Well, gee...I'm not sure, Joey."

"You're not?" He said, panicking.

"Well, if it was like a person...you would probably give it a fever pill, make sure it's warm, and maybe put a cold cloth on his head. But, being a cat...I'm just not sure. I never took care of an animal before." She explained.

"Ooookay...well, then I'll try that." Joey thought, a sweat dropping.

Serenity added. "You should also try maybe letting it sleep in your bed, instead of a cat bed. Your body heat might keep it warmer."

Joey blushed from that, saying. "Yeah, well...I'll keep that in mind."

"Hopefully, its fever will break by tomorrow. Make especially sure by then it gets food and a lot of liquids. You know what they say...feed a fever, starve a cold." She chimed.

"Okay." Joey said, "Thanks, Serenity. I gotta go."

"You better call me tomorrow and let me know how that cat's doing." Serenity insisted. "I'm going to worry about him."

"I'll see what I can do." Joey said. "Seeya!"

Joey hung up and got a rag, putting cold water on it and ringing it out. He then moved back to Kaiba, saying. "My sister said this will help. Don't worry, she still thinks I'm talking about a cat."

A chill went through Kaiba from the rag on his head, as he whispered. "...c-cold."

"I know, but it's supposed to help your fever." Joey said. "I'll try and look for an extra cover or two. I'll be back."

Joey looked around, and found nothing. He finally came back with one of the sleeping bags. "It's been on the floor, but I wiped it off. If this doesn't help keep you warm, nothing will."

Joey then paced around the room for close to an hour after that, worrying about Kaiba. He started to get tired, himself...and decided to lay down. Joey got into bed next to him, watching him as Kaiba still lay there, trembling next to him. He then sighed and pealed off his shirt. "I thought we lost ya all ready once, Kaiba. I'll be damned before I let you go a second time...especially on my watch."

He then decided to take Serenity's advice, as he pulled himself close to Kaiba, wrapping himself around him.

Kaiba felt under the covers an incredible new warmth suddenly wrap around him, and gratefully grabbed onto it. He soaked it in, absorbing all the warmth he could, soon slipping back into the soothing darkness.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

During the night, Kaiba a had dream of a long time ago.

It was back when he was a mere child. Both him and Mokuba were alone in the house, while both their mother and father were gone...now dead.

With them no longer having parents of their own, they knew someone was coming for them. They had no idea what their fate was, or what was about to happen to them. All they knew was this could be the last day together before someone else showed up.

Mokuba lay crying in his bed alone, as Seto came into the bed with him.

"Don't worry, Mokie...you're not alone. I'm here. I'll be your father, now." He said.

"Niisama!" He cried, holding onto Seto for dear life. And he never felt more comfortable...similar to how he was feeling now. So warm...

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Kaiba woke in the morning. His fever had broken, he felt like he was laying in a pool of sweat, the dizziness was gone, and that strange odd comfortable feeling was still wrapped around him. He opened his eyes to find that it was surprisingly...Joey.

'What?' He thought, trying to remember when that happened. Joey murmured as he lay there, bringing Kaiba's attention back to him. That's when he noticed Joey's hair was wet and his forehead had beads of sweat on it.

Kaiba brought a weak hand over, wiping Joey's brow as the he laid there, still wrapped around him. Kaiba then realized that Joey, despite how uncomfortably warm it was to him, decided to lay wrapping himself around him, anyway.

'Why did you do it?' Kaiba wondered, not understanding.

Either way, he was tired of staying in bed, tired of having to have someone else take care of him, and very uncomfortable...he needed a shower. And there was no way he was going through the indignity of enduring another sponge bath from Joey.

Yet, strangely...despite the stickiness he felt from no longer having a fever and having Joey wrapped around him, he was still hesitant to leave. There was a strange comfortable feeling from it. It reminded him...of...of...

'...that dream.' He thought, remembering the dream of his past. He scowled and pushed it away. Then carefully, he began to slowly peel himself away from Joey's arms, as well. He didn't need anyone, he could stand on his own.

...well, at least he hoped so.

Once he was free of Joey's hold, he very carefully began to move. He was still very weak, but refused to be bed-ridden another day. With enough effort, he forced himself up to a sit.

Waves of dizziness and pain shot through him. It clearly felt like there was something wounded internally, but atleast nothing was broken. He stayed put that way, rasping for breath and pushing the dizziness aside.

Another moan from Joey caused him to turn his way. Joey had unceremoniously tossed all the covers aside, once Kaiba had removed himself from him. Turning back, Kaiba gripped the bed post firmly and began to stand.

He nearly collapsed on the first attempt from the pain shooting through the leg that had the old bullet wound on it. But after forcing his other leg to endure most of his weight, he was able to finally balance.

His legs still trembled from the strain of not standing for so long, and it was an effort not to collapse back in bed. He looked around, finding the one entranceway that looked like a bathroom and weighed what he had to do to get over there. Finding whatever walls or tables he could to lean on, he slowly headed over there, trying not to fall or collapse on the way.

He stumbled into the bathroom, leaning all his weight onto the sink counter. Then remembering Joey's words the other day, curiosity got to him, and he arched his head up to look in the mirror.

He really did look about as bad as it was described to him. His right eye he could now open almost all the way, the left he could open a little. The right side of his face still looked pretty bruised but atleast looked like himself. The left side was still pretty much all swollen from the beatings. His face reminded him of a pro boxer...who lost.

Sadly, his face probably reflected what the rest of his entire body also resembled. At least he was healing, and he had gotten well enough to make it for the first time out of bed. But, it was a severe strain to do so, and any normal and sane person wouldn't have dared tried to get up, yet. Technically...he wasn't ready. But, he did it, anyway.

Kaiba then moved to the toilet and sat down, relieving himself while resting his weary legs. At least Wheeler didn't have to help him with that. But that reminded him of the next project he was planning to do this morning...his next personal accomplishment. He turned and looked at the nearby bathtub.

As he visually examined the old tub, it looked strangely inviting despite it's condition...it would be the symbol of proving to himself he could finally do something on his own, once again. So, he stood back up and moved towards the bathtub, when his legs suddenly crumpled and he collapsed. After a moment on the hard cold floor, he forced himself back up in frustration and crawled to the tub. He then adjusted the water, crawled into it, and waited for the water to fill.

The water was hot and very inviting. It was painful to his open wounds, especially the bullet wound, but incredibly soothing to his bruises. Once the tub filled, he limply laid there for a time, the semi-floating reminding him when he was helpless in the ocean, expecting to die. As he laid there, he let his head sink under the water, feeling the mix of pain and soothing heat. Then he would apply a little pressure to the bottom, just enough to pull his head back out of the water to take another breath before going back under. Just soaking every part of his body, including his face, he knew would work well for his healing.

He laid there doing this for a good 10 minutes, until the water temperature began to cool a bit, reminding him to clean up and get out. He fumbled for the soap, slowly and carefully cleaning himself off. It was also used for his hair, since there was no way in hell he was going to stand up to reach the shampoo. It would have to do.

The bath was over, and Kaiba drained the water first as incentive to get back out. Dripping wet left him a reminder of how cold he felt last night, so he crawled to the other side of the small bathroom, getting the towel and drying himself off.

But, now he was left with a new dilemma he didn't think of before...he had no clothes. When he woke up that first day, it seemed that Joey had ripped the wet clothes off of him, so he could be nice and dry under the warm bed covers. And because of that, he had no clothes, and no idea where Joey put them. Looking around to find something at all he could wear, he was relieved to see an old bathrobe hanging on the door. It looked too wide to be Joey's, but he didn't care.

So, once again Kaiba struggled and finally made it to a stand, and used the bathrobe to cloth himself. Then being very careful to lean on whatever he could find, he left the bathroom. He wanted to get back to bed, but knew it was probably drenched from sweat from the both of them...and after all that struggling to get clean, he refused to lay back down in sweat and filth. Fortunately, this little shack also had a lounge chair that was so fat with padding, it looked more like a giant pillow with an indent in it for sitting. It was perfect for his present needs. Kaiba made it there and collapsed in it, finding a nearby wooden chair to drag closer to him and use as a foot stool.

And after all the energy he expelled to get a simple use of a restroom and bath done, he blacked out cold from exhaustion.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Joey woke up hours later, feeling relief from the cool air. As he slept, he must have kicked every cover off of his bed. But as he opened his eyes, he was equally shocked to see Kaiba wasn't there, either.

Immediately fearing that he kicked Kaiba off the bed, too...he jerked to the other side of the bed, spitting out. "Oh, shit! Are you okay?" As flashes of his fever yesterday sprang into his head.

To his surprise, Kaiba wasn't on the floor, either.

"Uh..." He muttered, confused.

Then to be on the safe side, he peaked under the bed to make sure he didn't end up there.

"Where the hell are you?" He muttered to himself and looked around.

Finally, he noticed the shadowy lump on the chair, and wondered how in the hell Kaiba made it over there.

'Maybe he's all better now?' He wondered, as he approached to see Kaiba seemed to be asleep.

'What...didn't he like the company?' Joey thought, his hand moving forward and checking Kaiba's head.

He was relieved to see it had cooled down to normal levels, once again...and he didn't look cold, either.

"Hey, you got my Dad's robe on." He said to himself, wondering how he managed that, and why his hair seemed to be wet. 'Maybe he's sweaty...that's what happens when your fever breaks.'

Kaiba woke from Joey's voice. And when he felt the hand on his head, he weakly opened his eyes.

"You need to change the sheets." He muttered weakly. But it was a whole sentence using his voice, and without it cracking or putting him into a coughing fit.

"How ya feeling?" Joey asked.

"Does this dump have coffee?" He asked.

"Coffee?" Joey blinked. Now that he thought about it...it did. "Oh, yeah. We do have coffee."

"Dumbass." He muttered, looking away. "You should have listed that."

"Well, sorry the hell for ya...I aint a coffee drinker, so I didn't think of it." Joey snapped. "We got beer, too. Ya want a beer? And I aint yer fuck'n maid, either. Geez, you're feeling better this morning, aren't ya? I think I liked you better when you were sick."

Kaiba didn't say anything, appearing to still be too tired to really want to put up a fight. Despite his attitude, Joey still felt sorry for him.

He turned away, saying. "I guess you're right about those sheets, though. They're in pretty bad shape, by now. We got an extra set, so I'll change them and toss the others to be washed. You need to lay down?"

He weakly nodded in reply.

"Okay...let me do that. Then I'll see if I can make you some coffee."

Joey changed the sheets, keeping any covers on it that still seemed okay, and had the rest balled up and ready to be cleaned. He then turned to Kaiba, who he wasn't sure was awake or fell back to sleep.

"You awake?" He asked.

Kaiba's eyes weakly opened, and glanced over at Joey. "It's done...you want help back to the bed?"

He shook his head no. Then after a number of weak efforts to get up, and failing, Joey finally went over and helped him anyway, leading him over to the bed. He didn't fight it when he was helped. Kaiba then rolled to his side and fell back asleep.

Joey put the covers over him, muttering. "Get some rest. Don't you worry...I'll take care of everything."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Narr: I normally mention this in the beginning of my stories, but I forgot…so I'll mention it here. When I came up with the idea for this story, I was actually inspired by a song from Gackt (yes, again), called "Emu for my Dear". It's on their Crescent album.

The part that caught me the most was in fact the very beginning of the song. For those who've heard it, Gackt is speaking very softly in the beginning whispering out words you can barely understand. Then finally he muttered out, "Emu…" He repeated that about two more times in-between the rhythm before the song finally starts. That was the part that gave me the picture of Kaiba badly wounded in bed, with Joey trying to figure out what he's trying to say, and finally he weakly whispers out. "Mokuba…"

Yep, that was the beginning idea of my story. And yes, I come up with the weirdest ideas at the most off the wall times. But, there it is.

Hope you guys enjoy the latest chapter. This one's a little longer than the normal ones.


	6. Chapter 6

**YUGIOH**

Getting Back to Square 1

Chapter 6.

The time that Kaiba slept, Joey started up the coffee pot. He then brought the sheets out to the beech, washing them all off in the salt water. The shack also had an old clothes line which he hung them up to air-dry them off.

"Better than nutt'n, I guess." He said. He looked at his work, then thought back on the last couple days. "You know...it really hasn't been that bad down here." He grinned.

He had Kaiba as company...and a beat-up Kaiba, at that. But he wasn't alone, and even as grumpy as the guy was, it was a pleasant change to not being alone like he was before. Plus, after being all depressed hearing he was dead, he felt great relief to see him alive.

Strangely, Joey kept picturing him wrapped around Kaiba last night. It was hot as hell that night, which made the whole experience very uncomfortable.

So, why did he keep thinking about it, and why did he have it stuck in his head, feeling he enjoyed it? Plus, it was Kaiba…a stuck up tight ass prick, now with a swollen face. He tried to picture that nasty face to better reinforce one more reason why he wouldn't want to be near him. But that only made him feel more bad for him.

'Stupid Kaiba!' Joey thought, shaking the thoughts of him out of his head.

Besides, it wasn't like he was going to be able to curl up to Kaiba every night, like some kind of security blanket. No…if he did that again, Kaiba'd probably punch him. Well…if he had the strength to.

When he came back in, Kaiba had miraculously woke back up, his eyes were almost bugged open, and they were looking around like crazy for something.

"You okay?" Joey asked, looking at him strangely.

"Coffee..." He muttered.

Joey grinned, understanding now. The smell of coffee was everywhere, and obviously perked him awake, instantly.

"Addict." He mumbled, and moved to the coffee maker. "I'll pour you a cup. But, it's gonna be hot, and you need to sit up. Are you sure you can handle this?"

"I'm fine." He replied, which was a blatant lie. But it was so easy to get back into his denial routine.

Kaiba struggled hard to get himself to a sitting position, leaning his back against the head board. But, he had a reason to make an effort, now. And compared to that watered down pea soup, this would be like heaven.

Joey approached with the 1/2 filled cup of coffee, to make sure he wouldn't spill it, and said. "Here ya go. If you want more just ask."

His trembling hands cupped around the coffee mug as he gratefully inhaled the aroma of it. Then very carefully, he brought it up taking a sip. It really hurt on his soar lips, but it tasted incredible. He felt he could drink coffee all day and night and be perfectly content to have nothing else.

Joey then decided to pour himself a cup, too. He personally didn't like coffee, but also believed anything had to be better than what he'd been eating. And compared to the food, it really wasn't that terrible.

"So, Kaiba..." Joey said, looking towards him. "You healthy enough to let me know what happened, yet?"

But before he could say anything, there was a knock on the door. Kaiba's eyes looked as wide as saucers from the sound, as Joey looked over, saying. "I wonder who that could be." He approached the front door, and opened it. "Yeah?"

"Are you Joey Wheeler?" The man asked.

Joey's eyes narrowed. "And who's asking?"

"Name's Bannock. I work for the owner of this fishing spot. He was wondering why the normal guys didn't show up here." The man said.

Joey replied. "My old man and his friends got thrown in jail just before-hand. Bar brawl and shit."

Bannock nodded. "Yeah, I understand that. You got ID? Just wanna make sure...you know."

Joey showed him his ID, and the man smiled. "Yeah, you look a lot like your old man. We heard you came alone...you didn't bring anyone to hang out with?" He asked, looking in.

Joey also looked in, wondering how he was going to explain the other man in the bed within view when he came alone. Yet, to Joey's surprise, there was no sign of Kaiba...not even his cup was out in the open.

"Naw...and that's just fine by me." Joey said with a smile. "After being in the big city, it's pretty nice to just hang out in the middle of nowhere fishing, with no one to bother me."

"I hear that." The man nodded. "So, how's that cat of yours?"

"Huh?" Joey asked, with shock on his face. "But, how...?"

The man laughed. "We have our phone's tapped...it's just a security precaution. The boss brings people down here on his land to hang out and drink, regardless of age. Some of those people can have quite a criminal record. He just wants to make sure no one's doing anything that can get him in trouble, if you know what I mean."

"Uh, yeah...yeah." Joey smiled, trying to be casual with the guy about it, trying to hide how that just freaked him out.

But anyone he dealt with involving this island so far gave him the creeps…especially after the guy mentioned the phone tap. It gave him an eerie feeling like being here was putting him in serious danger. It was quickly becoming more and more evident that Kaiba knew what he was talking about.

"Well, it had a fever." Joey said, starting to explain the cat thing and hoping the guy didn't suspect he was lying. "But once its fever broke, the cat just took off. But, I aint surprised...I don't got much here for food, and he aint having my fish. Plus, he didn't like the peroxide I put on him, either. I'd be surprised if he came back."

"I see. Well...you have fun fishing. The boat will be here in another two days for you. Just remember, if you see anything else, or any other strange boats, to give us that call." Bannock said.

Joey then eyed the man. "Does that include you? I mean...how do I know you aint some intruder? No one told me I was gonna be visited by anyone."

The guy flashed a symbol, saying. "You recognize this symbol, right? It's the same one from the guys on that ship a yours. They told you to watch for the symbol. Besides...if I wasn't, I certainly wouldn't know about the cat, or this Serenity dame."

Joey glared at him for mentioning his sister. "So, she ya girlfriend?"

"She's my sister." Joey snapped, realizing they obviously didn't pay a lot of attention on that phone tap, since he mentioned she was his sister on it, at least once.

"Oh, okay. Well, catch ya later." The guy said.

Joey then closed the door and looked around for Kaiba. He found Kaiba hunched on the other side of the bed, looking like he was about to strike, and one hand seemed to be gripping something...like a knife. The other had the empty mug, prepared to throw it at something.

"Geez, it's me! Don't kill me!" Joey said. For someone who could barely stand, it was amazing what he could seem to do when he felt he had to.

"It he gone?" Kaiba asked, not moving.

Joey nodded, which caused Kaiba to relax, by practically collapsing on his hands and knees on the floor.

"Come on...I'll help ya back in bed." Joey said.

"Make sure the door's locked." He added, accepting Joey's help.

Joey did as Kaiba said, then moved back and sat on the edge of the bed. "You know...maybe it's me, but I'm starting to get the weird feeling my fishing trip is connected to the guys responsible for you getting messed up. Am I right?"

Kaiba nodded, finally releasing the sharp object. It was a nail file.

"Where'd you get this from?" Joey asked.

"The drawer." He said, nodding to the small night stand next to the bed.

Joey asked. "So, what the hell's going on? Who did this to you?"

"Remember the Big 5? Remember Leichter?" Kaiba asked him.

Joey looked shocked. "How many times do these assholes come back to life? I thought he was dead!"

"He is. His brother Luther's behind this." Kaiba said. He took a breath, as his eyelids showed signs of getting heavy again. "They tried to kidnap Mokuba, in order to hurt me. But, I stopped them before they could. So, he got pissed off and tried to make my death as painful as possible."

"Looks like he succeeded." Joey said, remembering how bad he looked. It had to be painful for him.

"No...he failed." Kaiba smirked. "I'm still alive."

"Well, I can see why you didn't want me to call, now." Joey said. "But, how did you know they tapped the phones?"

"Don't you get it, yet? You're not alone, here. This is their island." Kaiba said. "This is the place I've been for the last month. I can assume in order to cut payroll costs, Luther decided to just drag some people off the streets of Japan to keep a look out for him."

"So, ya mean there's more than one of these places?" Joey asked.

Kaiba replied. "I'd guess there's atleast 4 of them positioned around the island to watch for anyone coming to investigate or bust him. Both brothers were technically criminals. But Leichter made himself look clean by involving himself with government military. Luther was one of his buyers...some kind of nut militia group. And now he wants revenge on me for his brother's death."

"How's he know you killed him?" Joey asked.

"Because he understands me well enough to know. Just because I can't be legally touched, doesn't mean there's no one out there that's unaware of what I'm capable of." Kaiba explained.

"Atleast you're doing better today. I'm just not sure how we're going to sneak you on the ship when it comes." Joey said.

Kaiba shook his head. "I don't plan on going back on the ship. I've seen the guys base first hand, and I know what's there. I'll just steal a helicopter and make it back."

"Dude, you are in no condition to go running around, stealing helicopters from people." Joey said.

Kaiba replied. "I know. But, hopefully in 2 days...I will be."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Later that day, Kaiba was sitting up once again and on his forth cup of coffee. Joey had turned on the satellite TV, showing the news. As the woman was presently talking about the weather, Joey was cooking 2 cans of creamed corn. He poured them into bowls, turned off the stove, then sat down next to Kaiba placing them on the small table he used for playing cards, earlier.

"Well, atleast you looking a lot better. It's nice to see you can sit up, and eat and drink again." Joey said.

Kaiba grunted, muttering. "I'm surprised I'm doing this good, with the crap I've been eating here."

"Hey, don't blame me for this...I didn't stock this dump!" Joey snapped. He then turned, hearing the reporter mention the McCullon case. "Hey, here it is."

_"Stephen McCullon...the man presently accused of killing Kaiba Corp's CEO: Seto Kaiba, is pleading guilty of all charges against him. Despite that fact, the Vice President Mokuba Kaiba insists on wanting the know the identity of the missing face he saw on the night of the kidnapping."_

_McCullon: "I all ready told everyone...he was a nothing! A peon that was too gutless to pull the trigger. I am solely responsible for Kaiba's death. No one else matters!"_

"They really found a nut job to take the fall." Kaiba stated.

Joey looked surprised. "You mean he didn't do any of this to you?" Kaiba shook his head. "Then, who is he?"

Kaiba shrugged. "I don't know. I've never seen him."

"So, then...the real guy ends up killing you and gets away scott clean?" Joey said.

Kaiba added. "That's not all. Now that I'm dead, he told me that Mokuba will be his next target, once I'm no longer there to protect him."

"But, you said he wanted Mokuba, just to get at you. Why would he go after him, now?" Joey asked.

"As a final pay-back to me. He wont be satisfied until we're both dead. That was his intention from the very beginning. He'll probably hold off for a half year and wait for everything to calm down before making another try at Mokuba." Kaiba said. "Fortunately, he doesn't realize I'm still alive. That's his mistake for hiring incompetent help."

"Well...at least you got time." Joey said.

But Kaiba disagreed. "Not really. As soon as he finds out I'm alive, he wont stay here for long. I know too much. Then once he's gone, the only way to find him will be when he makes his next move."

"That sucks." Joey answered. "Then...what're you gonna do? You know...when you get back?"

"Tie up loose ends." Kaiba answered, finishing off his coffee. "Any coffee left?"

"Dude...you been drinking that shit all day. I think you're going to be wired enough. You'll never get to sleep after all that. And that's what you need more than anything. Why don't you eat that crap corn and get some food in you?" Joey asked.

Kaiba took one look at it, and turned away. "I'm not hungry."

"Ahhh, come on...it aint that bad! It's definitely better than the watered-down pea soup I gave you. And if you don't eat, I'm gonna have to force-feed you." Joey said.

Kaiba gave him a smirk, saying. "I'd like to see you try."

"Jerk...like I'd take advantage of an invalid. Come on, man...you promised! I'll call Mokuba, if you don't keep your end of the bargain!" Joey threatened.

"No you wont...you know what's at stake, now." Kaiba said, but looked down at the corn, anyway. Sadly enough...he did sort-of agree to it. His hand came down, carefully picking up the plate and began to eat.

"Not bad?" Joey asked.

"It's food." He answered, causing Joey to laugh.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Narr: I just want to thank everyone that has been sending me reviews. And please do review, if you can…I'd really appreciate it. Let's me know if you guys like it or not.

One other thing…I'm looking for an old fanfic that I can't remember the name of. I don't remember the details except something made Kaiba slowly lose his intelligence. In the end, he took a potion to make himself smart again, which was risky cause it could have killed him. But he did it anyway. If anyone can remember the name of that, I'd appreciate it.


	7. Chapter 7

**YUGIOH**

Getting Back to Square 1

Narr: Warning: Yaoi, m/m, sex involved. Don't like details, just skip the end part of this chapter, then.

Chapter 7.

It was later in the evening and Kaiba was still awake. Once again, Joey had convinced Kaiba to play another game of cards with him, so he wasn't completely bored.

"Ha!" Joey cheered. "I got an eight, and I call it...hearts!"

Kaiba scowled. Joey knew he had no hearts. Joey also knew he was now holding all the cards. Only two cards left before he was out and they were both hearts. And one of those cards was a Jack, something he knew that came up at least twice now. So, Kaiba's chances of having the last Jack or getting it in time was almost nil. This time...he had the game in the bag. Well...as long as Kaiba didn't pull a wild 8.

Kaiba picked cards from the deck. At the third draw, he put down a heart. Joey put down the Jack of Hearts.

"Last card." Joey chimed. "I'm gonna beat your ass this time, Kaiba. There aint nothing that can help ya now. Maybe you should call on lady luck ta save ya."

Kaiba pulled another card, still having no hearts. "I don't believe in luck." Kaiba explained, putting down a Jack of Spades. "Only skill."

Joey's eyes practically popped out of his head. "How the hell did you pick that card? No way!"

Kaiba just gave a smirk, and said. "Start drawing."

Joey pulled out 5 cards before he found something he could play. And by the end, Kaiba still managed to win.

"How the hell do you do that?" Joey asked. "There's no way you could have won! And there's no such thing as skill in a game of chance! This is supposed to be MY game!"

"Face it, mutt." Kaiba muttered, leaning back. "You'll never beat me." The smirk was still there as he heard the pleasant melody of Joey growls, afterwards.

But they died down, as he said. "I'm getting tired...what about you?"

"I might as well try. I wont get any better staying awake." He muttered, slipping back down into bed, taking great pleasure in pulling himself back under the covers. And Kaiba immediately found that odd.

As Joey began to also get into bed, Kaiba suddenly asked. "Does it seem cooler in here, or am I getting a fever again?"

"Naw...you're right, this time. Must be a cool night outside, tonight. This is a summer place, so it don't have any heat." Joey said.

Kaiba gave a grunt as he tossed the robe aside, then closed his eyes…trying to keep them closed, despite the caffeine still in his system.

Again, Joey suddenly thought about the night before. He tried to shake the thought away, but he realized Kaiba had just given him some kind of excuse to use, to try it again.

'There's no way he'll let me.' Joey thought, but decided it's worth a try. The worst he'd do was toss him out of bed, out of spite…right?

"Uh…hey listen." Joey said nervously, making Kaiba open his eyes back up and look at him. "Well, last time we were cold, we...uh. Well, you know, I was just..."

"You weren't cold, you were hot." Kaiba said, still not comprehending why he did it, if he was hot. Why do it just for him?

"I know, but you had a fever. But, anyway...this time we're both cold. So, ya think...well, we can…you know…" Joey was still rambling, as an odd tinge of red began to form on his cheeks.

Kaiba snapped, irritably. "Just quit you're stuttering and get over here, all ready."

"Yeah, yeah...okay." Joey said, surprised he accepted. He scooched over to him and cautiously wrapped himself around him, ready to spring back if Kaiba threatened to try and kill him for it.

Kaiba didn't feel like arguing. Plus, if it was cooler outside anyway, he didn't see the problem with it. Kaiba accepted the embrace, flinching only once or twice from the wounds he skimmed over, wrapping his own arms around him to once again absorb the warmth from him.

It was odd for him to take comfort in anyone else making contact with him, especially not Mokuba. But the warmth felt good and reminded of him of a couple nights ago, which he strangely enjoyed.

Joey then quickly muttered. "Uh...when we get back, we'll just not mention this whole 'sleeping together' thing to anyone. Okay?"

"Gossip isn't really one of my traits." Kaiba muttered sarcastically, after being reminded how stupid Joey could be at times. It was amazing he survived the experience, with Joey as his nursemaid.

"...right." Joey nodded, finally shutting up.

It was quiet for almost five minutes, when Joey unexpectedly gave a chuckle. "You know, this kind of reminds me of those soap operas. Don't it?"

Kaiba gave him an odd look, asking. "You watch soap operas?"

"No!" Joey answered perhaps a little too quickly. "But, you know...Tea watches those things and tells us about 'em once in awhile. That's all. I don't actually watch that crap."

"Of course not." He sourly answered, not believing him. Joey could be so obvious at times.

"Anyway, this is just the kind of shit they'd put down in one of those soap opera stories...aint it? One of those weird things you never expect would happen to you in a million years." Joey said.

Kaiba sighed, tiredly. "Do you mean the fact that I was kidnapped and nearly killed and somehow ended up with you, or do you mean the fact that we're both in the same bed wrapped around each other?"

He was still trying to grasp why he accepted Joey's request, anyway. He told himself probably to get better for Mokuba…why else would he do it?

"Well...both, I guess." Joey said. "But, I mean...they always do that. Two people in the middle of a tornado, or snow storm or something. They end up stuck in some shack next to a blazing fire. Then to help keep warm, they both rip off each others clothes and huddle around each other under the covers...for survival and shit. But it never ends with them 'just' trying to survive."

"Hmph." Kaiba replied. Kaiba was starting to feel this story had an underlining meaning to it. Was Joey trying to come onto him? If he was…did it matter?

Joey chuckled. "So, I guess all we're missing now is the make-out scene..."

He 'was' trying to come onto him, though obviously not directly. Joey was clearly too gutless to just come out and try. So, instead he was simply opening the door for him, allowing Kaiba to toss him a bone. 'Stupid mutt.'

It was totally quiet for a good minute after that. Kaiba finally broke the silence, asking him. "Are you trying to proposition me?"

"No, I aint trying to do that!" Joey blurted.

After another minute or two of silence, Joey spoke again, saying. "I was just saying that's all it's really missing, that's all."

Nope. Joey wasn't going to make the first move. That left it up to Kaiba if he wanted to grant Joey that option or not. He told himself he didn't care about Joey…he didn't give a shit. And obviously Joey's needs were not important to him. Kaiba getting back and making sure his brother was all right was all that mattered.

Yet, that wouldn't be for a few days. And was it really all that bad to allow himself some pleasure while he recovered? Given, if they did this…it certainly wasn't going to be easy for him, with all the sore bruises he still had. He was going to have to be a lot less aggressive than he would prefer to be. It probably wouldn't even be worth it.

Despite that argument with himself, he decided maybe it would be worth a try, anyway. He'd toss him the bone Joey wanted, and see where it took them.

Kaiba gave an loud sigh to make a point he was getting annoyed. "If you're going to make a pass at me, then either do it or shut up. You're pissing me off."

"Is that an offer?" Joey asked.

Kaiba gave Joey a nasty death glare, and finally Joey took a chance and kissed him. Kaiba accepted.

It started as a very careful kiss on wounded lips. But the wounds didn't feel so bad on them, now...it felt more like when a person's lips were chapped. From a simple kiss, their tongues touched, then their hands began to roam.

Suddenly, Joey unexpectedly broke away, as he said. "Oh, shit...I forgot to give you a sponge bath."

"I all ready took a bath." Kaiba replied.

"Bullshit. When did you get a bath?" Joey asked.

Kaiba replied. "When you were sleeping, this morning. Didn't you notice the wet hair?"

"Oh…yeah. I thought that was just sweat. You did smell pretty good today. But, how the hell did you make it in there to take a shower?" Joey asked.

Kaiba answered. "Bath. It wasn't easy."

"Well...as long as you got one in, then I guess it's okay." Joey said.

"Good. Now, shut up...you talk too much." He said, once again bringing his lips to Joey's.

For once, Joey didn't argue and stayed silent to focus on other things.

Joey wasn't sure why out of the blue he decided to be so close to Kaiba. Maybe it had something to do with caring for him like a patient. But it felt good to be wrapped around him. It was really making him begin to regret having to go back home, and worry if Kaiba was going to make it on his own when the time came.

"You better not die on me, Kaiba." Joey muttered in between kisses. "If you do...I'll never forgive you."

"You should worry about your own ass, if they find you here with me." Kaiba muttered back kissing him back.

The feeling of having Joey wrapped around him made him keep remembering that dream with Mokuba, which bothered him. Why would making out with Joey remind him of his brother?

After awhile, he thought he began to understand. It had nothing really to do with his brother, but the feeling he got from the close contact. It was a feeling of security from another, something he almost never experienced...and he liked being able to feel this way again.

He needed to keep focused on helping his brother. But one night...just one night of selfish pleasure, it couldn't hurt anything. Did he not deserve it, after all he had endured all ready?

His head then moved to Joey's ear and whispered. "Let's fuck."

"What?" Joey asked, shocked.

"Are you now deaf as well as stupid?" Kaiba asked.

Joey didn't let Kaiba's response get him angry though, as he sputtered out. "But...don't you think you're still a little hurt to do that kind of thing?"

"You'll just have to do most of the moving...you be on top." He said.

Joey hesitated. He always pictured Kaiba to be more of the domineering type, not that he ever pictured being in that kind of position with Kaiba. But then again, maybe Kaiba was that type and simply wouldn't take the chance because of his wounds.

For a second, his mind suddenly reminded him of something. 'What the fuck are you doing? This is Kaiba. You're going to fuck Kaiba? Really?'

Joey swallowed. "Is that wise? I mean...aint we supposed to hate each other?"

Kaiba found Joey could really be annoying at times…this was one of those times. "I didn't ask to marry you, moron...I asked to fuck. What the hell does that have to do with how we feel?"

Joey paused for a moment, then finally shrugged. "Well, shit...I'm game. That is, if you're sure you don't mind."

Kaiba didn't bother to reply to such a stupid comment, as Joey began to cautiously move over him. He wasn't sure if Joey's slower movements were due to his injuries or uncertainties that Kaiba might suddenly react negatively and toss him off. He could relate on both matters, either way.

Joey looked over the man he was about to have sex with. Between the fresh wounds that had been healing for days and the old wounds probably years old he already had on him (which Joey did not want to know where he got them from), he might as well be a living breathing crash test dummy.

'It's no wonder Kaiba's such an ass.' Joey thought, but didn't want to linger on looking him over too long. He didn't want to tempt fate. Kaiba was still rather weak compared to before the injuries, but his strength had been returning and he really didn't want to chance just how much damage Kaiba could do to someone, even in his present condition.

Joey moved down kissing him on the lips, which he knew was safe and wouldn't harm him. Due to Kaiba's condition, he hadn't shaved in some time, and the thick stubble that was starting to grow slightly pricked at Joey's face, as they kissed.

Joey's hands moved on him to test places that were okay to touch without too much harm. He noticed the stomach region was the area Kaiba shied from the most, and hoped there wasn't anything too damaging to him inside. He also hoped it wouldn't make the attempt of sex too difficult.

Joey had really never done this before. He didn't know if Kaiba had ever done this before, either. But he wasn't going to ask him…maybe at a later time when his curiosity peaked, but not now.

He considered for a second who should do the inserting, feeling either way it could bother Kaiba's mid-section. But decided to play the coward and not wanting Kaiba to insert first, he decided he'd be the one to do so.

So, Joey first moved his hand lower and began to slowly stroke at Kaiba to better arouse him, and was rewarded with a moan from him, as his hand came up once again bringing Joey down to his lips. He then continued to trail kisses down Joey's jaw to his neck, where Kaiba licked his tongue on his ear, making him shiver.

Kaiba then spoke, whispering in his ear. "Mutt…what are you waiting for?"

"What?" Joey asked, not expecting that from him.

"Keep it up, you're going to bore me to death." He muttered.

Joey growled. "I'm trying to be gentle with ya, you stupid bastard!"

"What the hell does sex have to do with being gentle?" He asked.

Joey just gawked at him. Was he serious?

Well…obviously his first instinct was right, and Kaiba did prefer to play the aggressor, when it came to sex. Either way, Joey was getting ticked off, now.

"Oh, sorry...I didn't know you do this cave-man style. Let me find a club and I'll beat ya over the head with it." Joey snapped, pissed off. 'Why the hell does everything we do have to be a fucking fight?'

Kaiba reached up, grabbing Joey by the hair and dragged him back down. "Forget it, I'll do it myself…"

"No!" Joey protested, shoving him back down. "You're hurt, now fucking lay there!"

Joey moved back up and decided to just admit it, hoping it would give the rattle snake a little more patience. "Listen…I aint never done this before, okay? So, you'll just have to give me a minute."

Kaiba grinned, amused…making Joey want to punch that smirk right off his face. But his face was bruised up enough, already.

So, Joey moved him down and decided to just give it a try. It was a really tight fit. After moving about half way in, Kaiba's grunts started to sound pretty painful, causing Joey to stop. He was tensing up.

"You okay?" Joey asked.

Kaiba had paused for a moment, before he nodded an okay.

"You sure you want me to go on?" Joey asked, starting to worry.

"Yeah…" He whispered.

Joey was still hesitating. Even if he was an asshole, he didn't want to hurt him.

"Just fuck'n do it!" Kaiba spit out.

Cautiously, Joey began to move again.

And Joey was right, it was painful for Kaiba…not that particular region, but when he jerked forward his stomach felt it, and that's where he felt the worst of the pain.

Kaiba moved a bit, trying to get a better angle. His hands moved up to grip the head board. That helped. Joey also seemed to understand where his pain was coming from, using Kaiba's legs as something to hold onto to try to bring Kaiba to him, instead of pushing all his weight down onto Kaiba.

But once they found a good medium and the right rhythm, it started to work out. There was still pain involved, but Kaiba didn't mind. As long as the pain wasn't too intense, he could deal with it. Besides…the mix and pain and pleasure seemed to work pretty good for him.

When Joey finished getting off, his mouth came down on him and pleased Kaiba that way, finding it was probably the less painful and most pleasurable way for Kaiba he could come up with.

Kaiba was able to jerk into his mouth without a problem, until finally he too released, enjoying the bliss it offered.

Finally both exhausted, they curled up together and passed out cold.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

**Narr**: When it comes to connecting a pair in a romance, it's always difficult to perfect. As the writer (at least for me), I can't help but go over it again and again and make sure it sounds right, in character and hoping I made it as understandable as I could to describe their thoughts on this. And hopefully, it didn't sound stupid.

**Kaiba**: Kaiba can especially be difficult, because the way he is…he probably can't even understand or begin to recognize what he is feeling, or that he actually is feeling something.

Because of everything Kaiba had to endure from a child until now, there are very few times in his life he can remember having good secure feelings. And when he had them they were probably with Mokuba. It's really the only comparisons he has to go on, which obviously in the beginning bothers him until he can separate and understand he's not trying to compare his brother with anything happening to him now, simply the momentary past feeling of comfort he experienced. (no, it's not an incest thing…)

**Kaiba and Joey**: These two characters really seem to be opposites, in so many ways. What Kaiba is lacking in, Joey seems to be pretty good with. What Joey is lacking in, Kaiba seems to more than excel in. Joey's is not very bright, while Kaiba is a genius. Kaiba bottles everything inside of him, while Joey attempts to wear his emotions on his sleeve. And I feel it's these opposites that compliment each other so well, and seem to almost cause them to attract, like two magnets.

I'm not sure I portrayed everything right, but I tried my best.

I'd like to thank everyone for your reviews. Everyone that's registered I always reply to. If you're not registered and you would like a reply from me, let me know in your review and I'll see if I can offer you a reply at the end of my chapter.

I normally send a new chapter out once a week until the story's over, unless something comes up.

Again, please give me a review to offer your opinion on the story. All comments are welcome.


	8. Chapter 8

**YUGIOH**

Getting Back to Square 1

Chapter 8.

Joey once again woke up alone, feeling a cold area where he had expected to have Kaiba. But, he could smell the scent of coffee once more brewing, and could hear shuffling from behind him.

So, Joey turned over and easily found him. Kaiba was silhouetted in the morning sun beaming in through the window. It also looked like he found his clothes. His boots and leather pants were back on. The pants had some damage, but nothing serious. He did not have a shirt on, and seemed to be examining his violet trench coat.

Joey clearly remembered the condition those clothes were in when he found him. They were drenched from the salt water, and were covered in blood, dirt, and other random filth. The turtleneck got the worst of it, and there wasn't much left of it but rags, which was probably why he didn't have it on. Joey had tried his best to wash the clothing off afterwards and hung them up. For having nothing but soap and shampoo to use for washing them, he didn't seem to do half bad. But, he had a feeling Kaiba would probably never wear these particular clothes again, when he got back.

He then looked over the person who could barely even breathe the first day he found him. His left eye he could tell still had a bit of swelling to it. But other than that, all the swelling that was all over the rest of his body seemed to finally be gone. All that was left now were bruising and scarring...except maybe that leg wound, but Kaiba seemed to be standing okay. Over all, he looked his normal self again.

His hair had begun to grow longer, as well. Joey assumed it wasn't just from these past few days but also from the time he had been missing from the public eye. The added length didn't look too bad on him, and still held the neatness of a professional haircut, unlike Joey's mop. He also seemed to be clean-shaven now, despite the growth of stubble he adorned on him from at least the last few days, which meant he probably found his Dad's razor in the bathroom.

Joey thought about that for a moment, and wondered if Kaiba would have been better off trying not to look like himself. If he didn't shave, he could have tried to possibly blend in more when he planned on trying to steal an escape helicopter from the bad guy's base.

'Maybe there's some hair dye in the cupboard. I didn't really look.' He thought.

At that moment, Kaiba turned to see Joey staring at him. "So...you're finally up." He said in his normal tone of voice.

"Wow...you sound okay." Joey said. "You got a hell of a healing system, there."

Kaiba then grabbed another piece of material off the table next to him that Joey didn't notice until now, and showed it to him. "Who's is this? I'm assuming it's not yours since it's not a ripped up T-shirt."

"And what the hell is that supposed to mean?" Joey growled. Was this really the guy he just slept with last night? 'I liked him better when he was beat-up.' Joey thought. Even during sex he was an asshole.

"Who's shirt is this?" Kaiba repeated, not in the mood to explain the intricacies of just how stupid he thought Joey was, at the moment. It was a white silken button-down shirt, nothing special, nothing fancy. The shirt seemed too big for Joey, yet no where nears big enough for Joey's father to wear.

Joey shrugged. "It's not my Dad's...it's too small. It must have been from one of his buddies he came with."

"Well, I'm going to have to borrow it, for now." He said as he began to slip it on. "It's the best I could find, since my shirt was destroyed."

"The guy probably left it here when he was drunk...I'd doubt he'd miss it." Joey said.

It felt good for Kaiba to get up, and actually be able to once again start a morning routine. It was kind of gross for him to be forced to use combs, razors, and tooth brushes that were all used by someone else, at one time. But it was either that or go even longer without using them...which was even worst. And it felt really good being able to take a shower as well, and make his own coffee once again. He could even walk around and could feel his strength coming back.

Now, all he'd had to do was lay low and hope he would be strong enough by tomorrow. But, that worried him. Even if he was at full strength, those bruises left him weak spots all over his body. If he wasn't careful, those weaknesses could take him down and be the end of him. He would have to be ready for his task ahead.

"I wonder if we should try and make you look different…maybe it would help." Joey suggested.

"It wont help." Kaiba replied. "Unless I'm dressed like one of the soldiers, there's no way of blending in."

"Oh." Joey answered, scratching the idea of hair dye.

He now watched as Kaiba gracefully draped the silken white shirt around his body and buttoned it up, pulling the collar up so it didn't fold over like most people wore them. Kaiba then took his trench coat, and put it on. Then not being quite satisfied with the look, he tucked the shirt in, and once again inspected himself.

Joey felt he looked good whatever way he wore the clothes. Which he found strange, wondering when he started to think of Kaiba as looking 'good'?

'Maybe when I slept with him.' He mused.

The thought then suddenly gave him a strange sad feeling on why and how they had gotten together. They were alone on an island. Joey didn't know how something like that might affect Kaiba, but it certainly affected Joey negatively…he hated being alone with no one to talk to. On top of that, Kaiba had just recovered from what was probably the beating of his life. And the suffering the guy was forced to endure could make even the hardest man feel needy at times. So, the question was, when this was over...would they ever get together like that again, or move on like it never happened? And Joey had a feeling that knowing Kaiba, it would probably never happen again…at least when they got back to civilization.

'Oh, well.' He thought. 'I guess it'll be fun while it lasts.'

Joey then forced himself up, and slipped on his pants...also standing. "I see you made coffee. You want me to get you a cup?" He asked, heading over to it.

"Yes." He said, inspecting his coat, looking over every flaw that Luther's people had caused. His hand reached for his pendant, once again opening it to reveal his brother. 'It wont be long now, Mokuba...I'll be back soon. I promise.'

"Here ya go." Joey said, handing him the mug, and glancing down at the open pendant.

Kaiba closed it quickly, then took the mug, taking a sip.

Joey smiled. "You miss him, don't you?"

Kaiba looked away. "Let's just say if I had a choice to have him here or home...I'd gladly choose for him to be where he is, right now."

"Yeah...I guess ya got a point." Joey said. He then took a sip of his own coffee, adding. "You know, this stuff kinda grows on ya. This aint half bad no more."

"That's the caffeine talking." Kaiba said, also taking a sip.

"Heh...yeah, I guess so." Joey chuckled. Then suddenly looking nervous, he stumbled out. "Uh, hey...I was just wondering...you feeling okay? I mean, after last night? I mean, I didn't hurt you too bad, did I?"

Kaiba glanced down at him, replying. "If you did, you would have all ready known about it."

"Oh. Well, yeah...I guess." Joey said.

"Why do you ask?" Kaiba asked, studying him.

"What?" Joey asked back, still acting weird. "You know, just wondering...that's all. Making sure yer okay and everything..."

"Hmph." Kaiba chuckled out. "No you're not. The last time you acted strange like this, you wanted to screw me. Didn't you get enough, last night?"

"I aint asking to screw you, you asshole!" Joey snapped angrily.

Kaiba grinned. "No...but you're thinking about it."

"You know, your ego's just fucking amazing! I wish I had a camera and got your picture a couple days ago, just to show the world how fucking sexy you looked then, Mr. God Complex!" Joey snapped.

He shut up when Kaiba approached him. Kaiba brought a free hand up, touching his face as if trying to place the feel of his skin into a mathematical equation. "Stop being stupid, and just say what you're trying to say." Kaiba said, waiting.

Joey's eyes widened some to show the hint of fear he was trying to hide and was now failing. He couldn't understand how Kaiba could do it...cut right through the bullshit like that and know that there was something underneath bothering him. "Well...this aint gonna happen again when you get back, is it? I mean...not that I care. I just wanted to know, you know?"

"Why? Did you like screwing me?" Kaiba asked casually.

Joey gawked at him, and asked. "How the hell can you be that blunt about something?"

When Kaiba didn't answer and seemed to be still waiting for Joey's response, he looked down, saying. "Well, yeah...I guess it was fun. So what...ya got a problem with that?"

"I don't know." Kaiba answered. "It could continue. I see no real downside to it. But, if it does...you're first going to have to wait awhile. I'm going to have a business to catch up with, a brother to protect, an enemy to get rid of..."

Joey looked up at him surprised, only paying attention to the first part. Did he just say maybe or yes? He was expecting a no for an answer.

Kaiba then offered him the hint of a smile, and bent down offering him a kiss. He had to admit, he liked the closeness. He also had a feeling when he got back home, sleeping in his normal bed was suddenly going to feel a lot more lonelier, now.

For a moment, Kaiba wondered if he really should let himself get any closer. After all, he all ready had Mokuba in his life that he had to constantly protect. Did he really want to give himself another possible weakness?

Maybe it was the torturing that did it to him, but somehow the weakness didn't seem to matter as much as the coldness of being alone. He wanted to feel that warmth again in the future.

'It's just sex.' Kaiba mentally reminded himself. 'It doesn't mean anything.'

As long as he could be with Joey without any real feeling, then there wouldn't be a weakness. Somewhere, in the back recesses of his mind, he also knew he was deluding himself from the truth. But, this wasn't the time to be thinking of such things. He had to keep his mind focused on Mokuba. So, any other problems or pressures would have to be put on the back burner until then. So, for now...denial was just fine.

Kaiba released his touch on Joey and moved passed him, ignoring the smile that came on Joey's face after kissing him, and bringing the coffee cup over to the rest of the pot. Joey only filled it half way again, and after a few sips it was already almost empty.

Joey was still thinking over Kaiba's response, feeling strangely happy from it. This was not what he expected…this was not what how he thought someone like Kaiba would respond, at all. He not only seemed agreeable on possibly continuing when they got back, he even came down and kissed him. And it was so casual…it was as if this was something they always did together. It was like they were on a date, or something.

'Is this the same guy?' He wondered for a moment. How could someone go from asshole, to almost dare he say…nice? 'Maybe I'm mistaken.' He thought shaking his head.

But that kiss sent shivers all the way down him, that made him want to go over to Kaiba for another. He was watching him as Kaiba moved past him to get some coffee, filling his cup up and drinking down some more.

It felt like he had always studied Kaiba's movements, even before this whole venture. It was like he had been watching him forever. But his mind had never defined those movements as sexy before. He never realized how pleasing it was to just stare at his motions, and the simplest actions that Kaiba performed.

They still had a whole day ahead for them. Joey wondered if they could just take that time to somehow socialize with each other, without trying to kill each other for once. At least Kaiba seemed calmer today, after last night. Maybe yesterday's romp would help keep Kaiba mellow enough where he wouldn't want to argue as much, this time.

"So...what do you want to do for the rest of the day?" Joey finally said, trying to start a conversation. "We got TV, cards, and each other. Then again, we could always drink ourselves silly for awhile. We got a stacked fridge, after all."

"Maybe you should try your hand in fishing." Kaiba said, taking another sip of his drink.

Joey looked at him blankly. "Huh?"

Kaiba turned to him, saying. "Neither of us want to be eating that canned crap, anymore. Maybe with that luck of yours, you might actually catch something."

"Well, why don't you come with me, then?" Joey asked, hopeful. Did Kaiba just admit he was lucky? "You can stand, now. Maybe we can do this together."

"Idiot." Kaiba replied. "As usual, you're not thinking again. I can't leave this place during the day. If even one of Luther's men see me, we're both dead. We have to wait until you get on that boat before I make my move."

"Oh." Joey answered, deflating.

When Joey didn't say anything more, Kaiba asked. "So, are you going?"

"Maybe trying to steal a chopper aint the smart way to go." Joey suddenly brought up, still thinking how much more dangerous it probably was to sneak into a military camp, over sneaking on a boat. "You'll be heading right towards the place they kicked your ass, right? I mean...there must be a whole army over there. Wouldn't it be safer to just stow away on the boat? I've stowed away on a boat before...it aint that tough. And if I can do it, you can do it...right?"

Joey didn't mention the part that he was actually caught doing it, and needed Yugi to bail him out. It was actually Tristan and Tea that successfully snuck on without being noticed. But, he was still confident if anyone could do it, Kaiba could.

Kaiba shook his head, saying. "Trust me...this is the best way. Enough of the stupid questions…go get us some food."

"Fine." Joey snapped, and turned to the fishing equipment. "But, you're cooking it!"

'So much for socializing.' Joey pouted, as he snagged the equipment, ready to storm out in a huff. Yet, Kaiba did have a point…he was sick of canned food, too. Given, he knew nothing about fishing, but it was worth a try, at least. And who knows…maybe the experience would be more fun than he was imagining.

Kaiba ignored Joey as he slammed things around to point out his childish behavior anyway, before he finally left.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

After Joey left, Kaiba started to look over everything in the house, to see exactly what the place offered. He needed weapons to storm the place tomorrow, and whatever was in this house was all he had as options for the time being.

He finally ended up in the kitchen, where he looked over the silverware drawer. Then pulling out a few of the smaller sharp knives, he started to slip them into places on him where they would be concealed.

'One more day.' Kaiba thought. 'I'll be back to see you in one more day. Don't give up hope, Mokuba...I'll be back for you before you know it.'


	9. Chapter 9

**YUGIOH**

Getting Back to Square 1

Chapter 9.

It had been quite a few hours, and Joey had not returned, yet. During that time, Kaiba had been living off of coffee. He had also by now turned on the satellite TV, keeping up to date with his present death.

_"The Militia group was known as the OABB, The Organization Against Big Business. It had not been seen for some time, but obviously it was still alive, yet in hiding...controlled by a mad man, known as Stephen McCullon. And sadly, Seto Kaiba...CEO of Kaiba Corp was made a victim of this terrorist organization."_

_"The new CEO of Kaiba Corp, Mokuba Kaiba has been reported to still be resisting all the evidence that had been found, insisting this attack had nothing to do with the OABB. Despite that fact, the police have been moving forward with their investigation."_

_Mokuba: "Since the police refuse to listen to their key witness in this event, Kaiba Corp will be conducting their own investigation in the possible whereabouts of Seto Kaiba."_

_"Experts believe that the new CEO may be suffering from trauma over the loss of his brother, and pressure has been on him to seek professional help over this event. Fear over the possible instability of their new CEO has been causing a drop in Kaiba Corp stocks..."_

"Just great..." Kaiba muttered sourly.

Suddenly, the door burst open, causing Kaiba to jump and instantly reach for one of the hidden knives. But, he relaxed as soon as he realized it was Joey. But, he then did a double take after seeing what he was doing.

Joey was huffing and puffing, dragging in what looked like a shark with part of the fishing pole sticking out of it. He gasped. "You know...I can use a hand here!"

Kaiba put down the controller and his coffee, then lifted his hands back up and slowly clapped.

"That aint what I meant!" Joey snarled.

Kaiba offered a smirk, saying. "I can't believe you caught a shark with a fishing pole. What the hell did you use for the bait?"

"Myself, I guess..." Joey said, as he grunted, dragging it further into the door. He then laughed, saying. "Ya know...you weren't shitting me when you said I can use my luck to fish. I can barely believe it, myself."

Joey then let go of the shark, getting ready to tell his story. "Well, first I tried to string the thing, but the damn fishing line got all tangled. But I all ready had enough line out to fish, so I figured 'hell with the real, I'll just use myself to pull it in'. So, then I dug up a worm for bait and shoved it on there, went further in the water figuring if I was deeper I had a better chance of getting a fish, then tossed in the line. The next thing I know, this shark shows up out of nowhere, trying ta eat me!"

Joey got into some stupid pose as he continued, saying. "So, I put the pole up like kind of a shield, but as he lunged at me he snapped the damn thing clear in half. So, I took the thicker part of the pole, and when he came at me, I stabbed it in him! So, he was thrashing, trying to get away, but I hung onto the pole and wouldn't let him go, until he finally stopped moving."

He then grinned and pointed down at the shark, saying. "So, there we are...shark food. Hope you're hungry."

Kaiba walked over, looking down at the shark. "You certainly have a flair for the dramatics." He stated, referring to the way he waved his entire body around when telling the story.

He still couldn't believe Joey had caught a shark, though. It was a pretty impressive feat, he had to admit to himself…though he'd never admit it to Joey.

"All right." Kaiba said, grabbing onto the tail. "Get to the outside and push the other end."

After both of them fought with it, they finally succeeded to get it inside. For Kaiba, it was more painful to force his muscles to work that way again, though he hid it well. Despite Joey not noticing, it bothered him the amount of pain he was still feeling. He feared it could cause him problems the day after, when he went back to the base. He could only hope the element of surprise would give him the edge he needed to succeed.

"Okay…we got it in." Joey said. "Now what the hell do we do with something this big?"

Kaiba shrugged. "Chop it up and stick it in the fridge, obviously."

Joey gave him a look as if thinking Kaiba had a dumb moment. "Did you forget, genius? The fridge is filled with beer."

"Then empty it, moron. Beer's not perishable and we're not going to be drinking it, anyway. We'd be better off chopping this up and sticking it in the fridge to eat later." Kaiba replied.

Joey argued. "There's no way we can eat all this in one day. And I don't think we got enough wrapping paper for this."

"So?" Kaiba asked. "Then wrap what you can and drag the rest out to sea. I don't care. We're not leaving its remains to sit here and stink up the place."

"Alright, alright..." Joey grumbled.

Joey found some cling wrap, while Kaiba expertly did the cutting. Joey watched as he cut, seeming to be very good at it. "Where'd you learn to do something like that?" Joey asked. "You do cooking at home?"

Kaiba glanced up at him for a second, before looking back down at the shark. "Something like that." He muttered, leaving it at that. Any teaching about cutting that he learned was from Gozaburo and his private tutors which also consisted of assassins.

Either way, Kaiba got to the best 'meat' of the shark, giving those chunks for Joey to wrap and put in the fridge and freezer. Joey had to empty a few cases of beer to fit what he could of the shark meat, but eventually they ran out of wrapping paper.

"Well, that's it…we're going to have to dump the rest in the water. I suppose I'm going to also have to do that part, right?" Joey asked, knowing Kaiba could not be seen.

By this time it was starting to get darker. He might be able to slip out, but he didn't want to take the chance. Plus, he really wanted to avoid getting any more fish smell on him if he could avoid it.

"I'll clean up the small parts." Kaiba atleast offered, finding some plastic garbage bags to throw some of the left-over's in.

Joey took a moment to lift the removed head and play with the jaw, opening and closing. "Maybe I can keep the head. That would look cool on my wall at home."

"You're not keeping it, unless you can find a place to put it that wont smell up the place." Kaiba snapped.

Joey really wanted it, though. As Kaiba cleaned up, Joey emptied the rest of the fridge and shoved it inside with hope that he could come back later and have the thing possibly stuffed.

Joey then had to do the hard part of dragging the rest back to the beach and tossing it into the ocean, for the fish to eat.

The knife Kaiba used for cutting he tossed into the sink as he looked over his hands, feeling the aching in his arms from the simplest task of pulling a heavy weight and cutting something up. Was he going to be ready for this? He only had one day left to be ready…he had to be sure of it.

His hand went to the other, snapping his knuckles on both sides as he considered what he should do to ensure he would be ready.

When Joey came strolling back, he stopped in the doorway noticing it looked like Kaiba was redecorating.

"What the hell are you doing?" He asked, coming in.

Now that he observed a bit more, he noticed it looked like Kaiba had decided to move the furniture closer to the walls for some reason. When Kaiba finished what he was doing, he looked Joey's direction with an odd intensity before approaching him.

Glaring down at him, he finally said. "Hit me."

"What?" Joey asked, finding such an order insane. "Why the hell would you want me to do that?"

"Since when do you need an excuse?" Kaiba asked back. "Don't argue with me, just do it."

"Screw you, man…I aint hitting you!" Joey snapped.

Kaiba approached closer, grabbing him by the arm. "I need to know what I can handle. Now, do it before I give you a reason to!"

Joey hesitated…he was serious. And Kaiba had a point…if he asked him to do that before he was wounded and he nursed him to health, before he made out with him…he probably would have jumped at the chance. But Kaiba had been wounded, and he didn't want to cause him anymore pain.

"Joey…trust me." Kaiba said, attempting not to get pissed off to the point of hurting him in order to make him react.

He blinked…did Kaiba just say his first name? That had to be a first. He was asking for his trust, he couldn't turn that down. He grudgingly nodded, understanding Kaiba felt an odd urgency and for some reason needed to do this. Joey formed a fist and struck him in the face…practically flinching from doing so.

Kaiba had been wounded practically everywhere from what Luther and his men did to him, and still he barely felt that. Joey was definitely holding back.

"You call that a hit?" Kaiba snapped. "Your sister could probably hit harder than that!"

That was enough to set Joey off enough to make him try again, this time hitting him harder.

"There, you feel that one?" He snapped. He still felt bad for hitting him, though Kaiba's words had a way of alleviating such guilt.

Kaiba's hand came up and rubbed at the side of his face Joey hit, seeming satisfied. He was pleased…despite the swelling still partially evident in his left eye, he seemed to be able to handle it.

"Good." He said, tensing himself up some. "Now the stomach."

"Oh, come on!" Joey snarled.

"Do it!" Kaiba ordered. "Relax, mutt…I'm braced for it."

Joey gritted his teeth, not liking doing this at all. He didn't understand why Kaiba wanted him to cause him harm, when he wasn't yet even fully healed. But he did as Kaiba requested, despite not wanting to. He clenched his hand, then looked back up at Kaiba to confirm he was certain. When Kaiba nodded, he struck.

That didn't go over so well. He could hear the grunt from Kaiba as he buckled from it…his right hand grabbed onto Joey's shoulder to keep from falling over.

"I'm sorry!" Joey cried, grabbing onto him to help keep him up and hoping he was okay. He didn't think he hit him 'that' hard. Just like when he hit in him the face the first time…he was holding back.

This wasn't good for Kaiba. He was obviously still not fully healed inside, which was causing him problems.

Forcing himself to break away from Joey, he gasped out. "It's alright."

No…it wasn't. If his opponents hit him there, it would not be good. But he needed to know that ahead of time, to know what to better guard from them. This was not going to be fully healed by tomorrow…it just wasn't physically possible.

Forcing himself from Joey, he stumbled over and leaned against the kitchen sink to recover from the hit, taking breaths as he took the time to let the pain subside.

Joey quickly followed, wrapping himself around Kaiba, and gently rubbed at his stomach as he leaned against his back. "You sure you're okay?"

Actually…what Joey was doing felt pretty good. His left hand came out automatically, touching those soothing limbs that had wrapped around him.

"I'm fine…it's just still sensitive." He lied, not thinking it would help to tell Joey he probably had more serious internal damage. "I just need to better guard that area. It'll be okay."

"I can move the furniture back. Maybe you should get some rest." Joey said.

But Kaiba shook his head. "No. I don't have time for that. I need to be ready."

He thought a moment, considering Joey's offer, then looked back towards him, stating. "Go ahead and move the furniture back. It's dark enough now that I should be able to be outside unnoticed. You get some rest."

"Wait a minute…what the hell are you going to do?" Joey asked.

"Make sure I'm ready." Kaiba answered, pulling himself away from Joey.

Joey felt good to be near, but this was not the time for pleasure. Mokuba would be his main and only focus until he was sure his brother was safe. Without another word, Kaiba left the house.


	10. Chapter 10

**YUGIOH**

Getting Back to Square 1

Chapter 10.

Joey stayed inside for now, grumbling to himself as he moved the furniture back and laid back on the bed. "Whatever. That prick wants to go romp in the woods all night…see if I care. I aint his keeper…stupid prick."

After tossing and turning in bed for 10 minutes, he couldn't take it, anymore. He had to go see what Kaiba was doing to himself, this time.

Joey got back out of bed, putting on his shoes and took off out the door to see where Kaiba was and why, hoping not to run into any strange people as he did so.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Kaiba moved to an area that was hidden enough to keep any possible wanderers from seeing him, but where it was clear enough for him to move around. He began to stretch all parts of himself to loosen himself up and make sure he was ready for doing more than the simple things he had done, so far. He then begun to do practice moves on different forms of Judo and Karate he had learned from his tutors.

When he had finished with some of the basic moves, he next pulled out the knives he took from the house, using them with his practice moves. These weapons would basically be all he would have to start with, with hopes to get better weapons when he re-entered the compound.

As he continued his moves, he suddenly heard a rustling sound and he immediately let a weapon fly. Fortunately, it was not a balanced knife, making it an imperfect aim.

Joey cried out, not expecting a knife to fly by his head, then realized that Kaiba threw it.

"What the hell are you doing out here?" Kaiba snapped.

"What am I doing?" Joey asked. "What the hell are you doing whipping knives at me! You trying to kill me!"

"Keep it down." Kaiba muttered, moving close to Joey to retrieve his weapon. "We may not be alone out here."

Joey looked around, before turning and asking. "What are you doing?"

"I already told you, I was getting ready when I leave tomorrow. What the hell do you think I'm doing?" Kaiba quietly stated, annoyed by Joey's appearance and the fact that if it wasn't for the type of knife he was throwing, he could have killed him.

"Where did you get those from, anyway?" Joey asked.

"The house, obviously." Kaiba answered. "They're kitchen knives."

Joey paused. "So…you can throw as good as you cut up meat. Should I worry?"

Kaiba smirked. "Only if you're my target."

Joey still didn't look very happy. "Are you planning on killing someone?"

"I'm planning on doing what I have to, in order to stay alive." Kaiba replied.

"But…maybe it would be easier to come with me on that ship. And that way, you may not have to kill anyone and still get out of here alive." Joey said, trying to sway Kaiba's decision.

It wasn't working. "I've made my choice. This is the path I have to take."

"Why? Why is it so important to go back there? It's more dangerous that way, and you know it!" Joey snapped.

"What do you care?" Kaiba asked, not understanding the problem Joey was having.

"I care plenty! I don't want anything to happen to you!" Joey snarled. "I didn't spend all this time helping you get better just to have them do the same thing to you again…and this time, you may not make it back!"

"It's not going to happen again." Kaiba told him. "They already think I'm dead…I have the element of surprise on my side. And they'd never expect one lone person to come out of nowhere and steal a chopper. I'll make it through."

Joey looked down. "Maybe…maybe I should help."

"No. There's nothing you can do that could help me. If you're not there to get on that ship, they'll be looking for you. You can't handle anything more than simple bar brawling, and they'd kill you in an instant, or attempt to use you as a shield to stop me. And if you become a weapon against me, I'd have no choice but to go through you if I had to." Kaiba stated. "So, don't even think about it."

"You'd…" Joey's question faded, unable to believe he was hearing this.

He had done everything to make sure Kaiba would be alright again. And Kaiba just said in order to get home, he'd kill Joey to reach his destination. Joey looked hurt from that comment.

Kaiba didn't want to hurt him, but he had to make sure Joey didn't do something stupid and attempt to follow him. And the fact was, he would have no choice but to kill him if that happened. Joey might have seen it as selfishness, but Kaiba saw it as something he had to do for his brother. And nothing would get in the way of Mokuba's safety…not even Joey.

But he wasn't going to explain that to Joey, either. He turned his back on him, stating. "Get back in the house, Wheeler."

Joey glared at him, as his hurt changed to anger. "Fine!" He snapped. "See if I care!" He then turned and stormed back in the house.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Joey tossed and turned for the longest time before he finally went back to sleep. It was very late before Kaiba was finished with his practice and exercises. He then re-entered the house before the sun began to come up. As he entered, he put his things down, went in the bathroom and showered.

When he finished with his toiletries, he came back out, went towards the bed and looked down at Joey's sleeping form. This was going to be the last day together before his mission. He was actually feeling a bit sad that it was going to be ending. And after what he said to Joey, he was afraid this last day was going to be Joey hating him and fighting with him all day tomorrow.

"I'm sorry." He muttered, since he was asleep.

He was going to need sleep himself, so he took off the shirt and boots, and carefully slipped into bed, assuming he was not as light a sleeper as Kaiba was.

There, he stared at Joey's back for the longest time before he cautiously moved his arms around him, wanting to once more feel that warmth.

"Why did you say that to me?"

Kaiba hesitated, not expecting Joey to be awake. "Did I wake you?" He asked, wondering if the mutt did sleep lighter than he assumed. If the mutt heard his apology and attempted to rub it in his face, he'd make him pay.

"Naw…I was awake. I had trouble sleeping." Joey said, his back still facing Kaiba. "You'd really kill me just to reach that chopper? Do I really have that little value to you, that a helicopter is more important than a person's life…or a friend's life?"

"I don't have any friends." Kaiba answered.

Joey rolled over, still looking angry and very tired. "I think I'm starting to see why."

"That's been bothering you all this time?" Kaiba asked.

"Yes!" Joey snapped. "I thought you changed. I thought you weren't the egomaniac you used ta be. How the hell can you feel that way towards someone else?"

"I guess you misread me." Kaiba answered. He closed his eyes, saying. "I'd like to get some sleep now, if you don't mind."

Joey sat up, snapping. "Well, I certainly wouldn't want to interrupt your precious sleep! You know, I didn't have to save your ass and peal you off the beach, but I did it anyway. How can you have someone save you, then be ready to just turn on them on the drop of a dime? I didn't think even 'you' were that inhuman!"

"Joey…"

"Don't call me that!" Joey snapped.

Kaiba opened his eyes and glared at him. "Joey…if you got captured by these people, and you knew that you were being used so that those people could kill me, and also had no intention on keeping you alive after wards…do you feel you would really want me or anyone else to surrender, to see that happen?"

"That's not the point!" Joey growled. "Yeah, if I saw that situation, I'd probably tell you to go ahead and do what you have to ta take me down. But it's not something you should decide on your own. It's the principal of the thing…being ready to kill anyone to save your own ass, without even considering the possibility that maybe there's another way! I'm just another expendable person to ya, aren't I?"

Kaiba seemed to just stay quiet for the moment, debating if he should tell him the truth. If he told him the truth, would it make Joey feel better, would it help to have a better more restful night, or would it only be throwing more problems into the mix?

"Don't you got anything to say, at all?" Joey asked.

Clenching his jaw, Kaiba closed his eyes, stating. "I'm not doing it for me…I'd be doing it for Mokuba."

"What? What's Mokuba got to do with this? He's back home safe…you're the one trying to get out. Do you mean because Mokuba would miss you and be alone if you didn't get back?" Joey asked.

"Not exactly…" Kaiba answered, unwilling to say anything more about it.

"But…I don't get it." Joey said, as he began to realize that maybe Kaiba hadn't been telling Joey the entire picture. The guy could be so frustrating, sometimes.

And this was obviously one of those times, as he replied. "It's not your concern."

"Damn straight, it's my concern! Why the hell are you keeping shit from me?" Joey snarled.

Kaiba gave an irritated sigh, saying. "Listen, mutt…I'm trying to sleep. Now shut up and leave me alone!"

"Well, I aint shutting up until you tell me what the hell you're talking about!" Joey stated.

"It wont help." Kaiba answered. "If I tell you, you'll only argue more…I don't want to hear it."

"But…"

"Alright, listen…" Kaiba said. "If you let me sleep, then I'll tell you the truth in the morning. Agreed?"

Joey nodded, finally accepting letting him sleep. As Kaiba closed his eyes, Joey laid back down. After all, he was pretty tired himself and had been up half the night bothered by what Kaiba said to him.

Kaiba was actually first to go to sleep. Despite everything, it still bothered him.

Joey rolled over so he didn't have to look at him. After a few minutes, Kaiba's arms once again moved around him. And he wasn't sure if he was happy about that, or upset.

After all…it didn't make sense. To be so cold that Kaiba was ready to kill him to save himself, how could he so easily grab onto Joey, as if he actually meant something?

He wanted to throw him off in disgust…but he couldn't. He liked it, event though he was trying really hard to hate him.

'And what the hell does he mean it's for Mokuba?' Joey thought, still not getting it. His brother wasn't here…he wasn't in danger. The only way he could see this being for Mokuba was to save his own butt, so Mokuba wouldn't be alone, and would have a brother to go back to.

'But, he's full of shit!' Joey thought. 'That aint for his brother, then…that's for his own ass!'

He always felt Kaiba was a self-centered ego maniac prick. Maybe in Kaiba's own insane mind, he decided saving his own skin and plowing through any other person, friend or foe, was somehow a way of showing how much he cared for his brother, and that made anything he did justified.

Yet, still…if that was the case, if Kaiba felt it was so dangerous that way that he might have to take Joey down to escape, then why even take that route? The ship route Joey felt was much safer. What was Kaiba afraid of? Did he really think the ship was that much more dangerous?

For a brief moment, Joey wondered if perhaps it was something totally different he didn't think of before. Maybe Kaiba gets sea sick. Maybe Kaiba's afraid of water, or has some kind of boat phobia.

But he shook those thoughts out quick. If it was anyone else, he'd consider that a possibility. But this was Kaiba…he was practically inhuman. There was simply no way he'd have such a problem. He was sure of it.

'God, I hate him!' Joey thought, as his hands unconsciously wrapped around Kaiba's arms, anyway.

Eventually…he finally managed to get to sleep, himself.


	11. Chapter 11

**YUGIOH**

Getting Back to Square 1

Chapter 11.

It was 9:00am that morning when the phone loudly rang, waking them both. Kaiba woke up finding himself comfortably wrapped up around Joey. But that warmth was rudely pulled away, as Joey tiredly got out of bed to answer it. The phone…Kaiba glared, knowing it probably had to do with Luther's people.

"Uh…h'llo?" Joey muttered, sounding half a sleep.

"Rise and shine, Joey…" An unknown voice said on the phone. "This is your wake up call to warn you the boat will be arriving to drag your sorry ass back to the mainland at 3:00pm. You have that amount of time to sober up, and clean the place up. Make sure it's cleaned good. If it's not…you nor your family will be allowed back here again."

"Yeah, yeah…I got it." Joey answered. He realized they must do wake-up calls, assuming everyone was drunk and hung over, to give them plenty of time to sober up and get ready.

"Good…and you better be ready. If you're not out and by then, we leave without you." The man told him then hung up.

Joey hung up himself, absentmindedly saying to Kaiba. "Nice guy. He said the boat will be here by 3:00pm. I get out by then, or he leaves with me." He didn't know if Kaiba was awake yet, but he assumed. Kaiba normally seemed to wake up first.

He looked back over at Kaiba who was indeed awake. He was brushing his hair back with his hand, seeming to be slightly annoyed by it, since it was starting to grow long enough to cover his eyes.

Joey grinned down at him, saying. "See…that's what you get for having a haircut with such long bangs."

"Atleast I had a haircut." Kaiba smirked back at him.

"Shut up. I had a hair cut…it was a good one, too." Joey said. "I just got that wind-blown style."

"Is that what you call it?" Kaiba mused, sitting up. "I thought it called a rat's nest style."

"Asshole!" Joey spat. "Hey…you promised you'd tell me the truth this morning, by the way."

"I just woke up, bonkotsu." Kaiba mumbled as he began to stretch. "Go get ready or something. We'll talk after I eat."

Joey gave him a glare, then turned and walked into the bathroom.

With Joey out of the room, Kaiba got up and headed straight for the coffee. It was a good thing they had such a large container. It was also a good thing he liked his coffee black, since they didn't have any creamers here. At least they had sugar to put into it, though Kaiba used very little of that, as well.

For a moment he stared at the pot, beginning to smell the lovely aroma of the coffee being made. But after noticing the taste in his mouth, he turned and headed to the bathroom, as well.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"Hey!" Joey snapped. "I'm trying to shower in here!"

"What the hell are you worried about? You're behind a curtain." Kaiba muttered, half tempted to remind him he'd already seen him naked anyway, but decided not to bring that up. "Stop acting like a girl."

"I am not!" Joey said, feeling strangely self-conscious being naked in the same room with Kaiba, even though at school all the guys pretty much showered together. He had a feeling it was because of what they had been doing together the last few days. But, he didn't dwell on it…he didn't want to. He was still insisting that he was angry with Kaiba, until the guy told him why he acted the way he did the other night.

He still didn't like the idea that the guy he saved and slept with could offer such little care over anyone else's life but his own. He managed to get Kaiba to hint it was because of Mokuba that he said this, but for some reason Kaiba was trying to hide something from him, seeming to believe what he was hiding would upset him just as much.

'What the hell are you keeping from me?' He wondered.

He took a moment to peak out of the shower curtain to see Kaiba doing his teeth, and looked horrified. "Hey! That's 'my' tooth brush!"

Kaiba spit and answered. "Good…then I picked the right one. For awhile, I was worried it belonged to one of those drunken losers that normally stayed here."

"One of those losers you're talking about happened to be my Dad!" Joey snapped.

"And your point?" Kaiba was amused to hear the familiar growling again from behind him. This kind of fighting he didn't mind. He was honestly relieved it was Joey's tooth brush too, since at least Joey was someone he already shared saliva with.

He took a moment to look at the missing tooth in the back of his mouth. Originally, he felt he'd need to see a dentist about it, but he now realized it was a wisdom tooth. He had begun to feel he actually wouldn't need a dentist for this matter. Kaiba then rinsed the toothbrush off, putting it away and pulled out the razor.

The shower stopped and Joey grabbed for a towel…but didn't come out immediately, giving himself time to dry himself up, first. It gave Kaiba time to finish shaving and put a comb through his hair.

Kaiba looked in the mirror, to inspect himself. The swelling was gone…only some minor bruising remained. The worst part of his face was really his hair which was annoyingly starting to cover over his eyes. He was half-tempted to find a pair of scissors and cut them back, but was afraid he might ruin his hair from the attempt. Besides…it shouldn't hamper his task tonight.

He put the comb away, then turned as Joey came out. As he did, Kaiba couldn't help but snicker at him.

The wet hair that Joey had attempted to dry behind the curtain laid flat on him, weighed down by the water still in it. It made him look like a drowned rat.

"What?" He snapped.

Grabbing the comb again, he handed it to Joey, then headed in the direction of the shower, explaining. "I think you need to jump-start that mop of yours."

"And what the hell is that suppose ta mean?" Joey asked. Then he approached the mirror, crying. "Yahh! Yeah, I guess it is a mess."

Joey couldn't help but look behind him through the mirror, as Kaiba removed his clothing with no sign of modesty before also heading into the shower next. It also left Joey feeling jealous, upset, and confused.

'What the hell's wrong with me?' He wondered. 'It's Kaiba, for Pete's sake…I shouldn't be surprised by anything he says or does.'

Kaiba reminded him of any other kid in school who jumped into one of the showers for gym class. They didn't care what they looked like…Joey didn't care what they looked like either. Guys were guys. He realized the reason it didn't bother them was because they probably didn't feel 'that way' towards another. They were guys. If it bothered Joey enough to worry how he looked near Kaiba, he was probably starting to feel something more than a guy should towards another. But that also meant, Kaiba didn't seem to share that feeling. Why else would he just strip down in front of Joey without a care?

It made Joey feel even more hurt, assuming Kaiba did mean exactly what he said the other night. Joey was nothing to him, just like any other person in the world. He already stated that what they did was just for sex, and it didn't mean they wouldn't still hate each other.

As the shower started up again, Joey quickly finished his own personal hygiene and got out of there, not wanting to be that close to Kaiba anymore.

In the kitchen, Joey slammed at the pans on the stove, sulking about his present position with the CEO. 'It was a stupid mistake.' He thought. 'I shoulda never got that close to him! What the hell was I thinking? I should have known there was no way he was going to be any different then he ever was!'

Joey pulled a piece of shark meat from the fridge, cutting the slice off the best he could and slapped it on a pan. He banged the pan down on the stove and cranked it up, putting nothing else on it. 'I wish I never found him! I wish I stayed alone! It would have been better than how I'm being treated now! I hate Kaiba, I hate him!'

"What the hell are you doing?"

Joey jumped, not even hearing him when he left the bathroom. He whirled to see his angry face and snapped. "What the hell do you think I'm doing? I'm cooking a fish!"

"No…you're massacring it. Get out of the way!" He snapped.

Not giving Joey time to move, he shoved him out of the way, took pan off the stove and flipped it to see Joey had already burned it on one side. He shook his head with disgust, then scraped it off and tossed it into the garbage.

"What the hell are you doing?" Joey snapped. "Asshole, you just threw away my breakfast!"

"That's not how you make fish, you moron." Kaiba said. "And that had to be worst cutting job I've ever seen."

As Kaiba went for the fridge, Joey snapped. "Oh, what…you know how to cook, too? Mr. Perfect can fucking do anything, can't he? All he can't do is know how to treat people like human beings!"

Kaiba gave an annoyed sigh. He grabbed Joey by the collar and pulled him to his face. "Listen…I don't care if it's your time of the month or not. Stay out of my face, and let me do what needs to be done. You're the one that said if you fish, I'm doing the cooking. And from what I've seen, that might be a good thing. Obviously, last night is 'still' bothering you. But, I still don't care. I already told you I'd talk about it after we eat. Now, shut up and sit there…and stay out of my face."

Kaiba then tossed him away, and pulled a knife out to cut the fish.

He hated Kaiba. He hated that Kaiba seemed to know exactly what his problem was. He not only cut right through the bullshit, he treated it like his problem was nothing. He sat down, sulking, and muttered. "Stop treating me like I'm some kind of girl!"

"Then stop acting like one."

Joey looked down at his shoes for a little while, before looking up, and asking. "So, where did you learn to cook? Aint that what you hire people to do for ya?"

"I have cameras in the kitchen…I watched them cook. I did some research on the internet. I experimented a bit." Kaiba replied.

"But, why bother?" Joey asked.

"It's a good thing to know." Kaiba said. "I never liked depending on other people. If something ever happened that we would have to rely on ourselves, I didn't want to end up unintentionally poisoning my brother."

Joey just shook his head. 'It all comes down to your brother again, don't it?'

Joey couldn't help but look at Kaiba with envy over the sheer dedication he had for his brother. It made him think for a bit if there was ever a time he remembered Kaiba doing anything that wasn't for his brother.

He paused for a minute thinking about it. 'Well…there was that one time.'

But Joey pushed aside the thought of Death T. Kaiba was pretty psycho, then. He got better, thanks to Yugi. He didn't want to admit it at first, but Kaiba really was a changed person, after that. For a while, he didn't want to believe it, still angry over what Kaiba had done in the past. But after Duelist Kingdom, after he saw the close bond from Kaiba and Mokuba reuniting, that change was more than apparent. Ever since then, Mokuba had become his world.

'Was there any other time?' Joey wondered. Then it finally hit him. 'Dueling!'

Yes…when it came to dueling, it seemed to be the one thing Kaiba didn't do for Mokuba. Kaiba even outright said so.

Infact, he had to bring that up. "Hey, Kaiba…I was just wondering. You seem to practically do everything for your brother. But how come when you duel, it's only for yourself? I mean, when I duel…Serenity's the main thing on my mind! How can you just ignore him, then?"

Kaiba said nothing and just shook his head. It was amazing how stupid Joey could be. Of course he dueled for his brother. But he also refused to acknowledge his brother at that time for the very same reason. His brother had been used against him so many times, it's all he could practically do to try and protect him.

"You didn't answer me!" Joey said.

"If I need to explain it to you, then it's not worth commenting on." Kaiba muttered.

Ignoring Joey's sporadic thinking, Kaiba continued to focus on the shark meat. It was fortunate the one thing this shack had was all sorts of ingredients for making just about any type of fish. He wasn't sure what it was going to taste like since he had never had shark meat before, but he prepped it like a regular fish, in hopes it turned out okay.

As he did this, he made sure the oven was pre-heated and stuck it in. Now, all he could do was wait. Fortunately, his coffee was ready.

"You again with the coffee?" Joey asked, when Kaiba went over to get some. "That can't be good for you."

Kaiba looked down at him, like he just said something stupid yet again, and answered. "Need I remind you that our choices for drinking is either beer, water, or coffee?"

"So, are you going to talk to me about whatever it is you were hiding on me yet, or what?" Joey asked, changing the subject, yet again. It's what he really wanted to talk about, after all.

Kaiba gave a slow calm sip of his coffee, taking as slow as possible, and really enjoying seeing Joey twitch impatiently every second he did it, waiting for his answer.

When he finished with his sip, he finally replied. "I told you I'll tell you after we eat. We didn't eat, yet."

"Dammit!" Joey spat.

"You're not the patient type…are you?" Kaiba asked.

"Can't you just tell me, and stop playing these fucking games?" Joey asked.

He turned away, forcing Joey to stare at his back, replying. "I'll let you know after we eat, and not a second before."

"I hate you." Joey said.

"Thank you." Kaiba said, confusing Joey even more.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Narr: Sorry for making you guys wait for the answer so long. You'll finally get it next chapter. ;)


	12. Chapter 12

**YUGIOH**

Getting Back to Square 1

Chapter 12.

The shark meal was done and the two finally sat down to eat. Joey had to admit, the cooking wasn't too bad. Though, he wasn't entirely sure he cared for shark meat…especially being the first meal of the day, which would technically be breakfast, even if it was heading towards noon.

Joey was now eying Kaiba strangely, as if trying to figure something out. As for Kaiba, he assumed maybe the mutt was in some kind of brain lock.

"You know it's rude to stare." Kaiba muttered, not even looking up at him.

"Yeah, you know all about rude, don'tcha? You're like a fuck'n natural at it." Joey muttered.

Kaiba refrained from sighing again, and glanced over at him. "What, now?"

"Do you…get sea sick or something?" Joey asked.

"What?" Kaiba asked, not understanding.

"It's the boat…aint it?" Joey said. "No one's perfect. Maybe yer just afraid of boats or something. You know…if that's the problem, you can just say it. I wont make fun of you, if that's what it is."

Kaiba was still staring at him strangely. "Can you please explain what you're talking about?"

"You know…you're heading to the base today. That's why, huh?" Joey asked. "Cuz you got some boat phobia, of some sort."

Kaiba shook his head, and looked back down at his food, not even acknowledging him from the comment.

"What? You're saying that's not it? Well, what else can it be?" Joey asked.

"No, bonkotsu…I'm not afraid of 'boats'." Kaiba muttered. "That's the most ludicrous thing I ever heard. As I already explained, I'll tell you when I'm done...and not a moment sooner."

Again, there was silence at the table. But even as angry as Joey was, he wasn't the type of person who could just stay quiet. He moved to a subject he felt was more safe for the both of them.

"So, what do you think?" Joey asked.

"About what?" Kaiba asked, taking a bite of his shark.

Joey answered. "The food."

Kaiba finished his bite, asking. "Shouldn't I be the one asking you that? I'm the one that cooked it."

"Oh. Well, it's okay. Never was really much of a fish person. Too bad we didn't have Mako over here. He probably would have loved the stuff." Joey mused.

"Who?"

"He's a duelist. You don't know him?" Joey asked.

Kaiba shrugged. Whoever the duelist was, he obviously didn't find the guy important enough to acknowledge.

"Ahh, never mind. He was kind of a freaky fish guy, anyway." Joey joked. "So, what do you think of the shark meat?"

He played with the food with his fork a bit, replying. "It's better than the canned food we have. It's definitely not something I'd want to live off of, though."

Joey laughed, saying. "Yeah, I hear that. At least in another 3 or so hours, I'll finally be outta here and wont have to eat any of this crap, anymore. It'll be good to be back home. How about you? I bet it'll be great to see your brother again, huh?"

"I suppose." Kaiba replied, taking another bite.

That wasn't the reaction Joey was expecting to hear. He shook his head, saying. "Listen, I know you're some kind of prick that has to pretend your some kind of badass 24/7. But you know, telling me you're going to be glad to see your brother isn't going to change the fact that I still see you as a heartless prick. So, you don't have to worry about scarring your reputation any, okay?"

Kaiba didn't look at him, and for once it wasn't to be insulting. He paused as he chewed his food and swallowed. After Joey felt like he waited forever for Kaiba to say something, he finally replied. "Joey…I might not make it back."

"What the hell are you saying?" Joey asked, totally pissed off from Kaiba's comment. "The Kaiba I know don't go into a situation assuming he's gonna lose! All you gotta do is slip by the guards, and grab the chopper before they notice you! If you really think it's that hard, then why the hell are you going that way?"

Kaiba gave a sigh, taking another piece of his shark meat.

"This has something to do with what you're keeping from me, don't it?" Joey asked.

"It's not really something I'm keeping from you." Kaiba finally answered. "I've already given the information to you in pieces a few days ago. You just didn't put 2 and 2 together to figure it out."

"What are you talking about?" Joey asked, hating trying to decipher Kaiba's weird way of talking all the time. It was like an alien speaking in Japanese.

Kaiba glared up at him, stating. "I have already told you that once Luther finds out I'm alive, he will leave here and will be a constant threat to both myself and Mokuba if something is not done now. I can't leave here until that threat is eliminated."

Joey dropped his fork. "You're not planning on leaving. You're planning on trying to take out the head guy all by yourself."

At that, Joey stood, pushing the chair away in the process. "Are you nuts? That's suicide! You can't go all Rambo and play some one man army by yourself! There's no way you'd survive it! You may not even get to him in time!"

"I think I can reach him. I've been in that compound for weeks before they presumed to have killed me." Kaiba explained. "I probably wont make it out. Originally, I felt there was a chance, but that's reduced since I'm not healed enough."

"You can't do that!" Joey yelled. "Mokuba would never forgive you if you did that! He would want to see his brother alive!"

"Then you can't tell him." Kaiba replied. "Just let him know before they killed me that I removed the threat that went after him…Luther wont threaten him again."

"But, how are you supposed to protect him later when you're dead?"

Kaiba didn't answer, picking up his coffee and having a sip.

"We just started to finally sort-of get along, and now you're going to go off and kill yourself?" Joey snapped.

"You're not going to let this drop, are you?" Kaiba asked.

Joey practically yelled. "NO!"

Kaiba shook his head, and stated. "This is the reason I didn't want to say anything."

He looked up at Joey, who appeared more than upset…he looked hurt. He was already feeling the loss of Kaiba, before it even happened. Kaiba didn't get it. Why did he even care so much? He even threatened his life last night, and now even that didn't seem to be good enough to stop the stupid mutt from caring.

'Idiot.' He thought.

"Just try and think for a minute. If the roles were reversed. If you're sister was the one that could be in constant danger from this person. Would you honestly leave and let this threat to her remain…or would you stay and fight?" Kaiba asked.

With that question, Joey lowered back down in his seat knowing he was defeated. For Serenity…he would gladly do the same. What bothered him the most was he couldn't even stay to help him, because as Kaiba said…he would become a liability to Kaiba's mission. If he wasn't there when the ship arrived, they said they would just leave and abandon the guy. But more likely, they would come out and check on where he was…especially if their main base was on the same island as him. And that would only greaten the risk against Kaiba.

"It's not fair." Joey said.

"Life isn't fair." Kaiba replied. "That's why you have to depend on yourself, instead of gambling that fate will somehow be on your side."

Joey shook his head. "You were planning this from the beginning, weren't you? As soon as you woke up and were still alive, you planned on running right back over there and getting yourself killed again."

"In all honesty, I was hoping I wouldn't have to." Kaiba said, putting his fork down. "Weeks ago, I was hoping that reinforcements from Kaiba Corp would be coming down and retaliating."

Kaiba pulled the pendant from under his shirt, holding it up to him. "In this locket is more than just a picture…I also have built in it a GPS receiver. It's a Global Positioning System that allows Kaiba Corp to track me through satellite from anywhere in the world."

Joey blinked, as he pulled his chair back and sat down. "Then…how come they didn't find you?"

"I don't know. But Luther's group was known for purchasing government equipment. They must have a device that blocks any tracking systems from working here." Kaiba stated.

Joey thought about that. "So, then…maybe you don't have to go after him. All you'd have to do is knock out that blocking thingee, and they could find you."

"I can't take that chance. Taking that down would give Luther enough time to escape before reinforcements arrived. I have to take him down first." Kaiba said.

Joey thought some more. "Maybe I can still help you. I'm leaving at 3. As soon as I get back, I'll make sure to go over and let them know where you are. They might still be able to help."

"Maybe…depending on how long it takes to get you back to the mainland." Kaiba replied. "And I plan on leaving here as soon as it gets dark, unless someone shows up first to check out the house."

Kaiba had a point. Joey remembered the trip getting to the island felt like forever before he got here. But he really didn't know how much time it took. He could have felt that way because he was going there alone, and really didn't want to be there…plus being surrounded by people that looked like criminals didn't help.

And if Kaiba ended up having to leave early because someone showed up to check over the house, then that might not give Joey any time.

He now sighed himself, saying. "Well…at least try and give me as much time as you can before you leave to take him out, okay? Maybe I can send some people over there to help you out."

"We'll see." Kaiba said, not counting on it.

Their meal now became unusually quiet after wards, both finishing their meal in silence. After Kaiba finished eating, he finished his coffee then took the plates to the sink and began to wash them.

Joey was still feeling depressed. There was less than 3 hours before he had to leave, and it might be the last time he ever got to see Kaiba again.

He got up from the table and went over the Kaiba and gently placed a hand on his back. "So…I guess there's only a couple hours left before I have to leave."

"I suppose so." Kaiba said, cleaning another mug and putting it on a rack to dry.

"So…do you really hate me?" Joey asked.

"Of course not." Kaiba said, suddenly making Joey feel really good. "Why would I find you that significant to hate?" Instantly, Joey's happy feelings were crushed once again. And without even seeing his face, he knew Kaiba was smirking.

He smacked him in the shoulder, snapping. "You are such an ass, you know that?"

"Are you sure your parents didn't give birth to two girls?" Kaiba asked, stabbing Joey's ego down even more. "Because you've certainly been acting like one these last couple days."

At that, Joey swung Kaiba around, snarling. "Listen, asshole…this could be the last time we ever get to see each other again! Maybe you don't give a rats ass what you do with your last few hours, but I do! Even if you are a bastard, it's gonna suck to see you gone. Is that such a terrible thing!"

To Joey's surprise, he thought he saw some emotion crack in those stone eyes of Kaiba's as a hint of a soft smile came on his face. His wet hand came over, grabbing onto Joey's hair and pulled him into a kiss.

He really didn't understand why Joey seemed to care so much. He did read something about sometimes a doctor or nurse could get attached to their patient while caring for him, and wondered if that was the reason for Joey's weird behavior. But he had to admit, it felt good to know that someone besides his brother was gong to miss him when he was gone.

And Joey had a point…having a small taste of pleasure before he returned to hell might be pretty good. So, giving up on the dishes, he moved in the direction of the bed as he continued to make out with Joey.

The last time they made out, he was too wounded to be able to move very much. This time, he was going to show Joey exactly who was in charge.

Narr: The Mako comment, for those who watch them, was inspired to me from Little Kuriboh, and his Yugioh abridged videos on Youtube. Yeah, I kinda stole the remark. But, I use it only as a compliment to him. ;)


	13. Chapter 13

**YUGIOH**

Getting Back to Square 1

Warning: Due to popular demand, the lemon was made lemony enough to be considered officially a lemon! ;)

Basically…it's detailed. Don't like…then skip past to the first row of X's and dashes.

Chapter 13.

"Whoa…hey…wait!" Joey cried out, as Kaiba shoved him down on the bed, as the silk shirt on Kaiba was tossed aside, and he moved over Joey pushing him back down.

Kaiba then lowered himself, claiming Joey's lips as his hands came under his shirt to start pulling it up.

Joey's hands moved down and began to unbutton and unzip Kaiba's pants. Kaiba's lips had released him to start attacking his neck.

"Ah! Hey…watch it, you're going to leave a mark! Maybe we should…slow down?" Joey asked, as his own hands started moving up to explore Kaiba's body.

But that didn't last, as Kaiba harshly pulled his shirt up, moving his arms away to get his shirt off. Yet, Kaiba didn't take it totally off…instead he used the shirt to wrap his wrists up, preventing him from doing anything.

"Hey, cut it out!" Joey complained. "Let me go, ya fuck'n…mph!"

One hand was holding onto the shirt wad, while Kaiba's other hand he shoved over Joey's mouth, as he snapped. "Shut up!"

Joey lamely attempted to continue the muffled complaints, as Kaiba began to bite and suck in the most tender regions he could find on Joey, making him thrash around and attempt to protest more, to Kaiba's delight.

During that time, Joey attempted to bite and lick his hand in the attempt to make Kaiba let go, which didn't seem the help. The biting was unsuccessful, and after licking his hand, he simply smeared that back on Joey's face, making him complain some more.

After a good five minutes of torturing him, Kaiba finally pulled his hand off, as Joey immediately started spouting and swearing at him. He ignored him for the moment, as he undid Joey's pants, pulling them off, while slipping his own pants off.

Looking down at him, Kaiba asked. "Are you done, yet?"

"No, I'm not done you stupid bastard! Let go of my fucking h…" Kaiba covered his mouth again, then moved into position to insert.

Joey's eyes widened, as he attempted to get away, but had nowhere to go. With an almost evil grin, Kaiba adjusted and began to insert. Joey was crying out and protesting through his muffled hand, as Kaiba attempted to jack-hammer his way in…and was having trouble.

"Tight bitch…" Kaiba complained pulling out, as he released his hand again to begin to finger him.

"Ow, that hurt you son of a bitch! Don't you have something you can use for that?" Joey cried out, as the hint of unreleased tears could be seen in the corners of his eyes.

"You didn't hear me complaining the other day, did you?" Kaiba asked, as he began to press further in with his finger, trying to also cram a second one in.

"Well, you're fuck'n inhuman!" Joey spouted. "Dammit, take it easy! It's supposed to be an exit, not an entrance!"

"Quit whining, already! Do you ever shut up? I'm going to have to gag you next!" Kaiba argued.

"You better not!" Joey spout. "Ah! Ah! Wait! Hold on! Dammit, will you just stop for a second?"

Kaiba stopped, as Joey finally quieted for a moment, catching his breath. Kaiba's head moved down to his ear, and asked. "Is that better, now?"

Joey breathed a couple more times, before answering. "Yeah, yeah…okay, that's better…ah! Dammit!"

Kaiba yanked his fingers out at once, making him cry out again.

"Dammit, warn me when you do that!" Joey bitched some more, then once again began to panic as once again, Kaiba moved back into position. "No no…hold on, I'm not ready yet!"

"Too bad!" Kaiba spat, forcing his way in again.

"Ah! Dammit…it's sensitive down there!" Joey yelled out.

Again Joey began to cry and protest, until Kaiba had enough and covered his mouth once again, this time finding it much easier to force his way in.

A couple of the tears fell from Joey's eyes, as Kaiba came down and licked them off in-between the time he was thrusting down on him.

Finally, Joey's muffled cries of pain seemed to calm down, as they slowly changed to grunts of pleasure. Finally, he released his mouth once more, grabbing tightly onto his wrists with both hands for a firm hold like a handle, as he continued his rhythmic motion against him, soon becoming erratic as the pace quickened.

Joey was screaming, as Kaiba let out a deep guttural noise as he released in him. He moved some more and released again…finally remaining still.

There was nothing but breathing for a moment, before Joey looked up at Kaiba, and muttered. "Hey…what about me?"

Kaiba tiredly grinned, and asked. "What about you?"

"You son of a bitch! You better not leave me without…!"

"Relax…" Kaiba said, chuckling slightly as he moved from his present position and began to position himself over him. He playfully licked his ear, muttering. "You'll get yours. And unlike you, I wont whine like a little bitch."

"Hey, it's not my fault! You were being too damn rough!" Joey snapped, but shut up quick as Kaiba began to move down on him, allowing Joey's own insertion.

"Oh, fuck…yeah!" Joey cried out, as he began to move himself again. Kaiba grunted a few times until it was in all the way, and began again.

Again, the two guys began moving in rhythm. Kaiba this time let Joey scream his guts out, as he cried out himself, rather enjoying the mix of pain and pleasure from it. This time, it didn't irritate any of his injuries, which was a great relief in comparison to the time before.

Finally, Joey had the release he was begging for earlier. Kaiba moved off and slipped down with him, as they wrapped around each other.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Joey woke up later after Kaiba had pretty much attacked and dominated him. He was still really sore, the bed was a mess, and his head was floating somewhere in left field.

It was actually what he expected Kaiba to be more like. Well…maybe even a little more rough than he had hoped. And even though Joey complained 'a lot', he really enjoyed every moment of it…it was great.

A smile came to his face, as he considered the changes between last time and this time. Clearly, Kaiba was too wounded to really go at it, last time. Obviously, those wounds weren't bothering him at all, this time. Joey didn't remember any hesitation. Hopefully, it meant he was all better.

His thoughts returned on what they had just done. Yes, the sex was great. But it was more than just the physical that he liked. The look in Kaiba's eyes, the expressions on his face…it all seemed so new to him, over all.

He never liked the cold bored look of disinterest that Kaiba would wear every time he was near him. He hated it. Finally, Joey had succeeded in getting what he wanted to see on Kaiba's face. It was raw emotion pouring out of him. He loved to make Kaiba react, he loved to see the desire flow out of Kaiba like a never-ending river…and he was the cause of it.

It seemed like forever that he wanted to make Kaiba react in some way towards him. He wanted to make Kaiba angry, he wanted to see the temper tantrum that Kaiba would have when he defeated him. All the raw emotion that he normally saw pour out of Kaiba when he battled Yugi, he wanted to see in one of his battles.

But now that he made love to him, or vise versa, he began to reconsider that those dueling reactions were all he was trying to get out of him. Maybe all this time he wanted so much more from him, and never even knew it. He never even realized how much he wanted Kaiba's attention like this…until now.

And finally…he got it. But he never wanted Kaiba only to show this side of him because he was probably going to die.

'It's not fair.' Joey thought again.

Kaiba was now wrapped around him sleeping. Besides the obvious pains to his lower region, Joey also could feel the residue of small pains from the places Kaiba had marked him on his skin. He liked that too, even though at the time he was complaining about it. He only wished there was some way that Kaiba could go with him and he could still take out Luther, somehow.

Joey lazily brought his wrist up to look at the time, and immediately he jumped, waking Kaiba up. "Oh, shit…it's almost time!"

"What time is it?" Kaiba asked.

Joey sprung out of bed, quickly cleaning himself off then scrambling for his clothes, saying. "It's almost 3!"

Kaiba pulled a piece of clothing out from underneath him, handing Joey his shirt. "Then you better hurry. You wouldn't want to miss the boat."

Joey paused. "Maybe I should wait. If they don't come looking for me and they take off like they said, then maybe I could help you."

"…or maybe they'll come by an hour later and just shoot your ass." Kaiba said. He sat up, starting to gather his own clothes, saying. "Stop being stupid and just get ready."

Joey finished getting dressed, then looked over at Kaiba. He had gotten up and walked over to the sink to wash himself down in certain areas, before getting dressed, himself.

As Kaiba turned, Joey now looked sternly up at him.

"You better make it back." He said.

"I'll do what I can." Kaiba answered. That didn't satisfy Joey.

Kaiba approached, and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Joey…I'm not trying to get myself killed. Of course I'm going to do all that I can to stay alive. I'm merely warning you that the odds don't look good. If I can make it out of this alive, then that's what I'm going to do."

Joey turned away, looking hurt, then turned back and hugged him. "I still think you're an asshole."

He returned the embrace, then forced him back. "Get going." He said.

Joey gave him one more pained look then turned and walked out the door. Kaiba peaked through the window as he saw the ship already beginning to dock in the distance.

He couldn't help but feel amused, as Joey noticed the ship and went running towards it, but was limping due to the soreness Kaiba left him, and ended up tripping and falling over. Finally, Joey got back up and continued to run for it.

"Hurry up, or we're leaving!" Someone yelled to him from the ship.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Joey snapped back, quickly continuing towards the ship.

"You be careful, yourself." Kaiba muttered out loud, before slipping away from the window, to make sure no one outside could notice any possible movement still inside the house.

After a couple minutes, the ship finally began to sail away.

Once again, Kaiba was alone and had only himself to depend on. He had to wait it out until night time before he made his move. Until then, he had to make sure he was not spotted by anyone, including anyone that might possibly show up to inspect the house.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Joey was now on the ship and was sailing back to the mainland. He was so upset about what was going to happen to Kaiba, he continued to fidget on the ship nervously, pacing back and forth, anxious to get back home.

"Hey!" One of the people on the ship snapped, not liking a nervous man on their ship. "What's your problem, pal?"

"My Mom's got a doctor's appointment today. What do you care?" Joey snapped, looking away.

The guy came over, and pointed a knife at him. "Cuz I don't like your attitude!"

Joey forgot…these people on the ship were probably also criminals. Making a better excuse up quick, he said. "Okay okay…I gotta get my Dad outta jail when I get back. And…I haven't had my fix in awhile."

It was a lie since Joey didn't take drugs, but that last comment seemed to make the guy more at ease. "Ah, so that's why you're so jumpy. That explains it. You got the money for yer Dad's bailout?"

"Not on me." Joey said, assuming the guy might be thinking of mugging him, now.

"Your Dad will probably be out eventually, even if you don't pay his way. I got a way you can get a better use out of that money. I know a friend inland who can hook you up, help ya get rid of the jitters, if you know what I mean." The guy said.

"Yeah?" He said, trying to sound interested. "So, where is he? Maybe I'll pay him a visit."

The guy had by now put his knife away and instead offered him a piece of paper that he wrote down an address. "It's good stuff…I've had some of it, myself. Just tell him that Vinny sent you."

"Alright, thanks." Joey said, trying to look sincere.

At least now he had an excuse for looking so anxious without being questioned. He couldn't wait to get back. The sooner he reached Kaiba Corp and told Mokuba, the better chance there was of Kaiba's survival. He only hoped Kaiba could make it out of this alive. 'Dammit, Kaiba…you gotta make it!'

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

For the last hour since Joey left, Kaiba made sure to clean the whole place up, to make it look as non lived-in as possible. He also finished cleaning up all the dishes and placed them in the holder for drying.

He didn't use any electricity for anything, incase they were able to keep track of the meter of the house, avoiding everything he could.

Instead, he sat on the floor and meditated, keeping himself relaxed and ready for his task ahead. His weapons were loaded in his trench coat which was on him. All he had to do was wait for night time.

As he sat there, he heard a noise. It was the sound of a jeep pulling up. Immediately, he moved to hide from whoever was coming in.

The door opened, as two men came in. Their voices were immediately familiar to Kaiba.

"Why the hell do we always get the grunt jobs?" Mane asked.

"Shut up, already!" Korgy said. "We gotta make sure this place is all cleaned for the next group of drunks to take it over."

They both came in with garbage bags, cleaning out the garbage and replacing them with other bags. While they were busy, Kaiba slipped from his hiding spot under the bed and quietly slipped out the door, hoping they didn't have anyone else waiting in the jeep.

"Hey, Korgy…check it out!" Mane said. "These beer cans are full!"

"That's weird. Why the hell are they out of the fridge, then?" He asked, opening the fridge. "AHH!"

Korgy pulled his gun for a second, looking like he was going to shoot whatever was in the fridge. Mane started laughing.

"Shut up, you asshole!" He snapped. "What the fuck is a shark head doing in the refrigerator?"

"Damn, that's a hell of a catch." Mane said. "Speaking of which, the guy broke the fishing pole." To point that out, he showed Korgy the pole that was broken in half.

"Fuck! We didn't bring an extra! Dammit, now we'll have to come back tomorrow before the next guy's show up." Korgy spat. "Well, help me out here…we gotta get this stupid thing out of the fridge."

"No, wait a minute Korgy!" Mane said, giggling. "Leave it in there!"

"What?" He asked.

"Think about it. The next group of drunks come in tomorrow. They open the fridge and reach for a beer and see that." Mane said.

Korgy starts laughing at the thought. "You gotta point. That's like a Kodak moment. Alright, we'll leave it there for them to clean it up. They got to anyway if they want to get their beer cold. You can stop by tomorrow and drop off the pole before they get here."

"What? Why do I have to do it?" Mane argued as they headed out the door with the garbage, back to the jeep.

Kaiba watched them from the side of the house as they jumped inside, still arguing over who would be coming back, as the jeep took off back to it's base.

'It wont matter.' Kaiba thought. 'They'll never come back.' Once he killed the head man, he was sure the peons that worked for him would all flee to escape the authorities from finding out they were a part of this.

Now that the jeep was gone, he slipped back inside, to wait it out.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Night time came, and Kaiba was ready to go. He considered Joey's words to hold out and wait for him to call for reinforcements. But if he waited, then Luther might get away. His death was more important to Kaiba at this moment, then his own life.

"Sorry, Joey…but my time is now." He muttered. He slipped out the door, ready to return to the enemy base.

He had two options for directions…he could follow the jeep trail right to the base, which he was sure was a round-about way to get there, or there was the sheer cliff near the cabin to climb, which he knew it was right at the top.

Of course…Kaiba decided on the hard way. Taking the cliff climb would probably be quicker to get there, keep him in areas he was more familiar with, and it had the highest chance of him not being spotted. His wounded body really wouldn't like the workout, and there was the risk of falling, but it's what he had to do.

It took another hour to scale the cliff up to the top. Unlike the cliff they launched him off of, this section was more wooded and not a total drop, giving him more things to hold onto for the climb. Once he made it, he found himself smack in the middle of some kind of military graveyard. This seemed to be the place they threw all their excess waste they no longer used. It upset him even more to find almost every vehicle and leftover weapon had KC stamped on it.

But atleast he knew his actions had stopped them from getting anything further. Some of the newer junk in the place had other stamps on it, which meant they couldn't get anything more from his company.

'That's probably the real reason you wanted revenge, wasn't it Luther?' Kaiba thought.

Neither Leichter nor Luther ever seemed to him like the type that cared for anyone, whether it was family or otherwise. He assumed the real reason Luther was so hurt that Leichter was gone was because it meant he could no longer get all the good equipment he used to get for almost nothing. Kaiba had pretty much ruined his main supply of illegal weapons he could sell to other people out of the country. The man desired money and power, and Kaiba mostly cut him off from both.

Well, now it was Kaiba's turn to take something else from him…his life. Luther would find out what happened when somebody threatened his brother's life. He would make him regret ever crossing the Kaiba brother's.

Once he finally made it up, he continued forward through the woods. Eventually, he found that path that the vehicles took to get to the base. But he remained hidden in the woods, not wanting to get near the road, so as not to be seen. He continued to move until he eventually started to see quite a lot of lights up ahead.

There was another sound of a jeep and he made sure he was hidden away in the cover of the forest, as the vehicle passed by, not noticing any sign of the intruder.

He crept closer until he could finally see the main source of the lights.

Finally, Kaiba was able to spot it…it was definitely Luther's strong hold. It was a massive military encampment, which was surrounded by an 8' chain link fence with barbed wire around it. It also had people guarding the fence every 100', as well as a spot light on a tower in the center of the base that constantly moved counter-clockwise in a big circle to spot anyone possibly approaching.

Kaiba did not look pleased. This might prove to be more difficult than he thought.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Narr: Next chapter…Part 1 of Kaiba storming the military base! Will Kaiba survive? Will Joey be able to help? Don't miss next week!

Thanks everyone for your reviews. Don't forget to hit the review button to let me know what you've thought of it. Your opinions 'do' make a difference! For example: due to past reviews, I've actually added more detail to the lemon scenes, since it was requested. Hope you enjoyed it.


	14. Chapter 14

**YUGIOH**

Getting Back to Square 1

Narr: Warning! A lot of violence!

Chapter 14.

It was dark when Joey had finally gotten off the boat, thinking he would never get there. He could only hope Kaiba didn't already end up getting there and killed himself in the process.

'Dammit!' He thought. As if that wasn't bad enough, he had to find a way to get to the other side of town where Kaiba Corp was located, when he had no money for a taxi or anything.

The most he could do was run as fast as he could, while attempting to hitch a ride with someone.

The cars going by were merciless, with no one offering to pick him up. Finally, he saw a kid on a bike and pushed him off, saying. "Sorry, kid…but this is an emergency."

"Hey, give me back my bike!" The kid cried out.

Joey paid the kid no mind as he stole his bike and started peddling as fast as his legs could take him.

Being it was a bigger city, the bike ride wasn't terrible. If it was Domino during rush hour, he might actually be faster than the cars. But it wasn't rush hour, and he felt like he was moving at turtle speed in comparison to the traffic.

He hated it. Every minute that he wasted was one more moment that could be Kaiba's last breath. And for all he knew, he could already be too late. But he couldn't think that way and just give up. If there was any chance that this could help save Kaiba's life, he had to keep going…no matter how exhausted this bike ride was making him.

Suddenly, to his surprise a motorbike pulled over near him, almost causing Joey to slam right into him.

"Hey, Joey!" Tristan said. "Where'd you get the bike? I didn't even know you made it back, yet."

"Oh, man…what a sight for sore eyes!" Joey said, so glad to see his friend again. "Dude, you gotta give me a ride to Kaiba Corp, like right now!"

"Why? What's going on?" Tristan asked, while giving Joey room to climb on. "And what about the bike? You know if you get on, we can't take that with you."

"Forget the damn bike!" Joey snapped, getting on. "Kaiba's still alive…at least I hope. I got information that we gotta give Mokuba, like now!"

"Are you serious?" Tristan said, surprised to hear this news. He took off, as directed by Joey, heading to Kaiba Corp.

When they stopped, Joey hit the ground running, heading straight to the front doors…that were locked. He pounded against the doors, saying. "Hey, come on…open the doors, dammit!"

"I don't think they're open." Tristan said, calmly approaching. "Oh, wait…there's security."

Upon Joey pounding against the glass, it seemed to alert a security guard to approach and investigate.

"What's going on here?" He asked, a flashlight in one hand, and the other hand placed near his holster.

Joey approached, saying. "I gotta see Mokuba. Kaiba's still alive, and I know where he is."

The man shook his head. "Pal, do you realize how many whacko's we've had insisting to see Kaiba's dead body or his ghost?"

"He aint dead!" Tristan said.

"But, he will be if we don't act soon!" Joey added. "Listen, I aint just any whacko. I mean…I'm not a whacko! Mokuba knows me. Just call him up and tell him it's Joey Wheeler…he'll know who I am. Tell him I saw his brother and he's alive. But if he doesn't move fast, Kaiba's gonna do something stupid and get himself really killed this time!"

The man moved his hand away from his holster instead calling in on his radio. "Mr. Kaiba, we have a Joey Wheeler out here who insists he saw your brother alive."

"What?" Mokuba cried on the phone. "Get him up here, right now!"

"Yes, sir." The security said, quickly changing his tone. "Alright…let's go."

The security guard opened the doors for them and led them inside to speak to Mokuba about the matter.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Kaiba circled the fence, looking for a weak-spot…or at least what he would see as the best way in. Fortunately, he found one.

Closer to the back of the complex, he noticed one of the guards was unsteady on his feet. He was stupidly leaning his back against the fence, not even watching what he was doing, with a radio up at his face.

"Give me a break, Carl!" He slurred loudly on the radio. "There aint no one out here anywhere! We got people watching the island near the water…what the hell do we need to be watching over here for?"

"Jack, you're going to get your ass fired if Luther finds out you're drunk again!" Came the voice on the radio.

"Oh, Luther –shmooter…uh, shmoother." The guy paused to laugh at his own lack of speaking correctly. "He can kiss my ass!"

"Listen you idiot! Don't call back on the radio anymore unless you have a good reason to. I don't want to get in trouble next." The guy on the radio said.

"Fine, whatever! Who needs you anyway!" The guy slurred, then tossed the radio down, pushing himself temporarily off the fence. "Ha, what do you think of that, ya stupid jerk!"

Kaiba noticed the other guards purposely avoided this section as well, probably also to avoid this guy so they wouldn't get in trouble because of him. He shook his head. This was what Luther got for hiring cheap help.

The drunk then once again leaned on the fence, as he pulled a small bottle of liquor he hid in his uniform to take another swig.

Kaiba waited until the lights passed by again, before he pulled two knives out and stabbed him in the back and the throat at the same time.

The guy stiffened up in shock, and a moment later he laid there dead. Kaiba tossed his trench coat up, climbing the fence while using the coat to keep himself from getting hurt by the barbed wire. He then expertly pealed the coat back off of there and leaped down.

He closed the bottle, tucking it away back on the body to get rid of it, then dragged the body and radio away from there before the light came back around.

Now hidden in the shadows near the edge of a building, he first stabbed the body of the guy in the throat to make sure he was dead, then searched him. In doing so, he got a more professional military knife, as well as a military rifle, and some ammo.

"Thanks, Jack." Kaiba mused, finding a parked jeep to stuff the body under and hoped no one would notice any blood trails until morning.

He now took a moment to gather his bearings, to figure out where he was. From where he stood, he could see the compound they originally kept him, where they constantly beat him up. He remembered the direction the guards headed to report to Luther every time they left. Plus, after he had circled the perimeter to scope the area, it was a very good guess that Luther was staying in the same building where the helicopter was perched.

It was a large building that they made the roof as an additional landing pad. Though there were a few helicopters and planes he could easily take and get out before they realized what was happening, he had to take out Luther. Hopefully, the guy also had an easy access to that chopper resting on the roof.

It was not very easy for him to slip passed people unnoticed to get to the main building. Sometimes, he had to just hold out and wait for someone to move. For awhile the main building had two guards outside of it. Finally, it reached a point where there was only one guard, and he realized this was the best he was going to get and had to act on it while he could.

He threw the military knife at the guy, hitting him in the throat, then quickly moved over there relieved to see the door wasn't locked. Then grabbing the body, he shoved it and himself through the door, praying he wouldn't be surrounded by guards on the inside.

It was a hallway with doors. Finding the nearest door, he used the dead body as a shield as he slammed through it with him, slamming into a table. The body came down to show a surprised guard on the other side starting to lift his weapon. But Kaiba used the military rifle that had a knife blade at it's end to stab at the guy's gut from a distance. He fell and collapsed.

Kaiba stabbed at them both again, to make sure they were dead…as he had done with the drunk guy earlier. He couldn't afford to have anyone he killed still be alive to warn the camp. Then taking his rifle, he wedged it against the door handle of the main door to the outside, in hopes to delay an attack from the outside.

"Halt, who are you?" A guard stupidly asked from behind him. Kaiba took his knife and thew it at him, hitting him in the shoulder of the arm that held his gun, making it impossible for his fingers to squeeze the trigger.

Kaiba moved on him quickly, holding a knife to his throat. "Where is Luther? Tell me which door he's in, and I'll let you live." He said.

The other arm still working moved, his trembling hand showing the door at the end of the hall.

"H-he's in th-there!" The guy fearfully said. "P-please don't…."

That's as far as the man got, before Kaiba killed him too, then dragged him in the room with the other two dead bodies.

This body also had a hand grenade and a handgun, which Kaiba was pleased to find, and armed himself with. Opening the door a crack, he noticed there was no one in the hall. But he heard the front door wiggle, then get pounded on. He was running out of time.

He left the room, ignoring the shooting noises outside the front door, walking down the hall with handgun in hand and headed towards the room that hopefully Luther was in.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Joey and Tristan was led into the room by the security. Mokuba bounded from the desk he was sitting in, saying. "Joey! What is this about my brother still being alive?"

"He is, man…at least the last time I seen him." Joey said. "You gotta go get him before he does something crazy. He didn't plan on leaving, he planned on going back to get the guy that tried to go after you!"

"Okay." Mokuba said, not surprised in the least that his brother would try something like that, but was just pleased to hear he wasn't already killed…especially with that guy constantly ranting on the news that he killed Kaiba and buried him in a secret place.

Even though Mokuba didn't believe this guy for a second that he was the one that killed his brother, he was starting to lose hope that he would ever see him again.

This was the first time since Kaiba's disappearance that he heard of anyone still seeing him alive. He'd had all sorts of reports of supposedly finding his dead body or his ghost somewhere. It was depressing to hear. And it didn't help having the whole world try to accuse him of being crazy.

"Joey, we need to know where you saw Seto. Come here." Mokuba said, practically dragging Joey over to where he was sitting.

"This is a map of Japan. Where did you see him?" Mokuba asked.

"Naw, he's not on the mainland…he's on an island." Joey said. "It's this fishing spot where they bring criminals. But I guess it's also some base for some psycho that wants Kaiba dead."

"Okay, hold on." Mokuba said, bringing the map farther back with a couple commands on the computer. "Is it a nearby island? Is it one of these?" He asked.

"Uh…yeah, it's near Domino." Joey said. "But I couldn't point to you where I been. I was just boated there and back…I don't know shit about directions."

"You didn't talk to anyone? You didn't find out where they were taking you?" Mokuba asked, unable to believe this.

"Yeah. It's this place my Dad normally went to. He just told me to call these people, who had me meet these other people at this place that brought me to this dock and boated me to this island." Joey said. Obviously, this information wasn't helping. "Listen, I just got off this boat like a half hour ago. Maybe you could…"

Mokuba ignored Joey, turning to the security. "Check out what boats docked a half hour ago, and find out where their destinations were from."

"Yes, sir." The security said and left the room.

"I'm sorry, Mokuba…maybe I should a questioned the guys on the ship, but they were pretty shady guys and had no qualms about killing someone for the hell of it. I was lucky just to survive the boat ride!" Joey said.

Mokuba looked down, saying. "It's okay, Joey…you tried."

At this point, Joey drooped hoping he had not failed Kaiba. Straining to think of anything else, he came up with something. He turned to Mokuba and added. "Hey, if it helps…Kaiba said that guy trying to kill you both is called Luther. He's supposed to be the brother of the guy from the Big…"

"Luther? Are you kidding?" Mokuba asked, shocked to hear the name. He knew the name of Leichter's brother. He just didn't know what the guy looked like, which was why he didn't recognize him.

"No, I'm not…"

Again, Joey was ignored, as Mokuba immediately got on the phone with his security. "Listen, the guy that took Seto was Luther Daimon! Are there any known military bases nearby owned by either Kaiba Corp, or the Daimon family? …I don't care if it's still listed as active or not!"

Mokuba shut up to hear the security on the other end, giving him information. Joey was pleased to see his brother brighten immediately. "That's great! I want the Japanese government alerted to this possible hostile threat, and I want Kaiba Corp security converging on that island immediately!"

He got off the phone, looking up at Joey. "Thanks, Joey…that was a great help!"

"Great!" Tristan said. "Then there's a chance he'll make it!"

But Joey looked worried. "I just hope it's enough time. He said he'd be going after this guy as soon as it got dark."

Mokuba understood the concern Joey was feeling all too well. He didn't know what his brother had said to Joey or how they even saw each other at this place, but he couldn't count the amount of times he was worried that his brother may not make it back to him alive, during all those times his brother had fought to protect him. And every time that happened, he had a feeling that one of these days, he really wasn't going to come back. For all he knew…this could be the day. But he couldn't give up on his brother. He knew whatever the risk he was taking…he was doing it for him.

Mokuba came over and touched Joey's shirt, then smiled. "All we can do is wait and hope for the best. But, my big brother is tough. If anyone can make it through…it's him."

Joey then smiled down at him. "Yeah…you're right, Mokuba. We gotta hope for the best."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Narr: Part 1 of Kaiba storming the military base is complete! Next chapter is part 2: Kaiba vs. Luther!

Also, I'm sorry, guys…but that time has finally come: next chapter is also the final chapter! Will Mokuba get his brother back, will Kaiba survive? Will Joey ever get to see Kaiba alive ever again? Will Kaiba succeed? All will be answered next week!


	15. Chapter 15

**YUGIOH**

Getting Back to Square 1

Narr: Warning…more violence! Also last chapter…

Chapter 15.

Luther first heard the banging from a distant door. Then he heard the outdoor siren go off, annoying him to no end since he was trying to write up a contract to send to a new weapon's supplier, while he waited for the media to calm down on Kaiba's death.

He would soon get his full revenge. It may not be the way he planned…but by the time he was through, there would be no Kaiba name left in Japan.

"What the hell is going on out there?" He growled, as his hand went for the phone. That very moment, the door opened and a very familiar person entered the room, pointing a handgun in the direction of his head.

Luther was terrified…Kaiba was supposed to be dead. He couldn't understand how he could be standing here before him alive as life.

Kaiba closed the door, just as the other door got smashed open down the hall, and he locked it…his eyes never leaving sight of Luther. Offering a cold smirk, he said. "I told you, you should have killed me. No one ever seems to take that warning to heart until it's too late."

"So…you're still alive." Luther said, as he began to casually bring one of his hands down to reach under the table. "I must say I'm surprised to see…"

Luther didn't get any farther than that before Kaiba pulled the trigger, shooting him through the head. The man's head dropped onto the desk, leaving a pool of blood.

"You talk too much." He muttered, not taking the chance to listen to the guy ramble on, when he easily noticed the man was reaching his hand down, for some reason.

There was now a pounding on the door he was directly behind, as one of his soldiers cried out. "General Luther…are you alright in there?"

Kaiba pulled out the hand grenade, pulled the pin, and quickly tossed it out into the hallway before closing the door back up. A couple shots were fired when he opened the door, but fortunately for Kaiba it was a well-protected metal door that couldn't be shot through. He heard screaming then the explosion that bowed the door in Kaiba's direction and sent the CEO flying on top of Luther's dead body.

He pulled himself up, thinking. 'Strong door…must have been made by us as well, at one time.'

He noticed the chair didn't budge at all when he landed on Luther…something that he expected should have been knocked right over when he slammed into it. For some reason the chair was bolted right to the floor.

'Strange.' He thought. He could hear more people coming and realized he had no time to get anywhere and was stuck in a room that seemed to have no exits.

Tossing Luther's dead body aside, he looked under the desk where he was reaching in hopes to find another weapon. But instead, he found a button.

'I guess it can't do anything worst to me then what's about to happen.' He thought, knowing once the soldiers came in, he was dead.

So, Kaiba pushed the button and to his surprise, the entire chair he was in elevated up towards the ceiling, which was also levitating up.

Shortly afterwards, the soldiers used a bazooka to blast through the door, to find Luther's dead body, no body else there, and his chair strangely missing. "Where the hell is the intruder?"

Kaiba found himself on the roof of the building, near the chopper that was also on the roof. But the spot light was flashing all over in the direction of the building he was on, and it narrowed in on Kaiba.

He quickly ran for it, as a machine gun fired from another tower at Kaiba. He reached the chopper but there was no way he was going to have the time to start it up and escape before they shot him or blew the thing up. It wasn't looking good.

His best bet was to try to climb in the helicopter and hope to get out in time before they blew it up.

As Kaiba moved to get inside the helicopter, a foot shot out from inside, striking Kaiba in the face. It sent him flying far enough that the other tower attempted to shoot at him again from a distance, and immediately he had to rush back to the chopper for the safety of cover.

He barely had a chance to see who this person was he was fighting, and simply charged at him, slamming him against the helicopter. His eyes widened realizing, as the man sneered back at him. The man's knee shot up, striking Kaiba hard in the gut.

The pain was excruciating, hitting him at his weakest point where he was still the most wounded. Kaiba saw stars, as he buckled and dropped to his knees.

The man chuckled down at him. The man's name was Hebi…he was the man personally in charge and responsible for torturing Kaiba, while he was a prisoner there.

Of course Hebi also knew all the most damaged areas that were done to him, before he was sent away to be killed. He had personally caused at least half of them.

The man laughed some more, as he struck Kaiba across the face with his rifle. "I knew there was no way you were fully healed. Internal wounds takes so long to get better. I can't believe you're still alive. I was disappointed when I heard Luther gave the approval to kill you…you weren't broken, yet. But when all the commotion started, I knew it had to be you…somehow, you must have survived. So, I waited in the one place you would most likely end up in the end."

Kaiba tried to force the pain away, and barely managed to pull the hand gun out he was carrying, but was kicked in the face again, losing his weapon. "Oh, it's such a pity all the chaos you did. I'd really love to be able to finish the job of breaking you. Unfortunately, we're going to have to leave. But, at least this time I can guarantee you die, Seto Kaiba!"

He was done for…he knew it.

The man took aim at him, and Kaiba knew there was nothing he could do in time, as his head lowered in defeat. Joey would be disappointed to know he failed to come back alive. And he had a feeling this would happen. If he wasn't so injured, he was sure he would have gained the upper hand. But no matter…he had at least succeeded in his mission. He could die satisfied that Mokuba would be safe.

But suddenly to his surprise, a Japanese military jet flew by, blowing up the tower that was shining a light where they were. Suddenly, the light was out.

At the time Hebi was just about to pull the trigger, and was taken off guard by this. For a moment, he looked up to see the jet flying by…now silhouetted in darkness.

Kaiba took this opportunity to pull out the military knife he still had, and rushed forward lunging the knife deep into the man's stomach.

The man looked at him, his eyes filled with shock and fear. Yes…that was probably the look Luther wanted Kaiba to have on his face before he died. Too bad he never got it.

It didn't last, as Hebi died almost instantly after.

Tossing him down, he looked around to figure out what to do next. People started to scramble in a panic, suddenly realizing their base had been discovered. And Kaiba could now see the KC copters also coming in from the distance in his direction.

He…was going to make it?

Immediately, he jumped in the chopper, started it up, and began to take off…ignoring the harsh pain in his gut that was still hurting him after he had gotten kicked there.

There was some machine gun fire that was shooting at the other helicopters coming in, as well as the jet taking another hit and run at them…some of those shots hit Kaiba's chopper as it took off. It was wounded but still able to fly.

He then received a radio communication, and heard it announce to him. "This is the Japanese military. You will land your helicopter and surrender, or will be shot down."

Kaiba quickly grabbed for the head set, replying. "This is Seto Kaiba. I am trying to leave a hostage situation, and request escort."

The radio came back, saying. "We copy. Kaiba Corp security is coming in…please follow them out of the area."

"Confirmed." Kaiba replied. He couldn't believe it…he was really going to make it. 'But, how did they find this place?' He wondered, and began to think that maybe the mutt actually came through.

Another shot suddenly came out…a missile, which hit the tail end. Despite his efforts to keep the chopper up, it crashed off-base a good 300 ft. away.

One of the KC helicopters hovered nearby as a few security rushed to the chopper, helping a wounded Kaiba out of it and back to their own helicopter.

"We got him…let's get back." One of the security said, as one of their medical personnel was there to check Kaiba over. As soon as Kaiba was on board the helicopter, it took off into the sky away from this area.

"Sir…are you okay?" He asked him.

"What do you think?" Kaiba asked coldly.

He had blood stains on him…some were his, some were not. He was badly bruised in places after being thrown back from the hand grenade he launched, and he had minor burns and cuts from when the chopper was hit and he crashed into the woods. And none of that included all the other injuries he was still healing from.

He looked him over and nodded, stating. "Well…you're alive."

"Aren't you a genius." He sourly replied.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

The helicopter left with Seto Kaiba on it. The flight didn't take too long and landed on the landing pad on top of Kaiba Corp tower, the main door opened and Kaiba stepped out with his security.

Mokuba ran out, crying. "Seto, you're okay!" And launched himself at Kaiba.

Kaiba kept himself from flinching since he didn't want his brother to know that his embrace hurt.

Mokuba could see that his brother looked like he literally went through a war zone, and asked. "You're not hurt too bad, are you?"

"No, I'm fine." Kaiba said. It wasn't an entire lie. Compared to what he went through earlier, these wounds were nothing. As the paramedic said…he was alive. And at least he could still walk on his own, without help.

In the distance, he could see Joey smiling at him from the doorway that went into the KC building. He was there with the spiky-headed friend of his who's name presently eluded him. It reminded him he was going to have to have a talk with Joey at a later time. Not only for personal reasons, but because he might actually owe Joey his life.

Speaking of which, that thought also caused Kaiba to remember something. He turned to one of his security, stating. "When the Japanese government is done and allows us over there again, I need you to go back."

"Seto?" Mokuba asked, wondering why.

Kaiba added. "Along the coast line, there should be a number of houses that watch when boats come in. One of those houses has a shark head in the fridge. It belongs to Joey…I want you to retrieve it for him."

"Yes, sir." The security guard said.

Mokuba just looked at his brother weird. "Did you say a shark head?"

"Yeah." He smiled, then looked over at Joey, who grinned right back.

"Hey…you called him Joey!" Mokuba said, finally realizing.

"I guess I did…didn't I?" Kaiba said.

He had endured a lot this last month. But he felt every moment was worth it, for the harm it prevented towards his brother. He had no regrets…not even for a moment.

And not only that…he even somehow managed to pick up a stray dog along the way.

Either way, it had been a hard road to travel…but somehow he had finally made it back to square 1.

END

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Narr: I hope everyone enjoyed this story. I know there were some out there who wanted yet another love scene for the ending. Well, I'm sorry couldn't offer that. I didn't think it would be very realistic to do so, since Kaiba was going to have to be patched up, deal with reporters, getting his company's stocks back up, clearing Mokuba as not being insane, etc. And yes, I could have tried to jump to a week or a month later with those two happily together. But they still have some things they were going to need to sort out, as well…and I wasn't going to just throw in a 'happily ever after' love scene. That would make this whole venture stupid and sappy. Plus, the main plot was really him getting back to his brother, not his relationship with Joey. So…that's the end. Who knows, maybe some day in the faaaar distant future I'll come up with a Getting Back to Square 1 number 2. Though I recommend not to hold your breath.

Anyway…since we are at the end, I wanted to announce that I will be submitting at least 2 more stories for those who are interested, coming in the next couple weeks.

The first is a one-shot Pegasus/Kaiba fic (yeah, I know…'something' shipping, I don't keep track of those terms!). For those who were not happy with my Hopeless Collision fic due to the angst, I am making it up to you in this light-hearted one-shot fic. I hope you enjoy it. Those who like this matching should 'not' be disappointed. Yes, it's a romance.

The second story is not a pairing of any sort, and is an elongated adventure fic. Those who read and enjoyed my Eternal Darkness story will be pleased to know that I have made a sequel: Eternal Darkness 2! (yeah, real original name…) Kaiba is now a vampire. The story takes place at the end of the Yugioh saga, showing how Kaiba deals with being undead, and how the gang also deals with it. Plus, they have a new enemy to face! Those that have not read the first story and are considering reading this, I greatly suggest you read the original first, to know what's going on. Don't worry, it's nothing like Twilight…vampires don't sparkle! (I hate Twilight!) And I made sure my vampire fics aren't just 'horror movies', they both have the Yugioh 'flavor' in the stories as well. After all…if you don't keep the Yugioh aspect in there, then it's not really Yugioh, anymore.

PS: I know this is the last chapter, but don't forget to review! Thanks!


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